Read it through once

In Egypt, near the Pyramids, one often finds _Carlina acaulis_, a little thistle which has no stem, but is merely a flower seated in the middle of a rosette of leaves which lie flat on the sand. In the centre there is a circle of sharp spines, each of which is from one to two inches in length. The nostril of a hungry camel or donkey is sure to be pierced if it tries to eat the leaves. The spines of this thistle, like those of our Carline and the _Centaurea calcitrapa_ (thistle of the Bible), spring from the bracts surrounding the flower.