Based purely on the little side spines coming off the main spine, I'd guess Gundelia tournefortii, but I'm not sure. It's a thistle type of plant, and it is found in Lebanon.

How cute!

Tell him , do not bring it home. Thistles and their relatives are AWFULLY invasive pests. I do not want to imagine 5 acres of this in my front field. I just spent three days grubbing out the Yellow Star malta thistle.

Thanks, hoovb, I thought it looked thistle-like myself. Mara, no worries, he photographed it and moved on....he's not much of a plant guy, he just thought that this one looked interesting. :)

Nancy

It is interesting! And his photo is awesome!

It looks a lot like Yellow Starthistle in its bud form. Centaurea solstitialis. If horses eat this (and they like the taste) it makes them come down with a condition where they can't swallow . They die of hunger and thirst.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:568581}}

here's another fact sheet on it. The images are clickable. The one on the furthest right shows different stages of the bud and flower. This is a huge problem and growing in texas and California. 15 million acres in California alone.

Here is a link that might be useful: St. Barnaby's Thistle

Mara, that's horrible! Thanks for educating me today.

Nancy

I think there is 15 million acres and growing in California alone. I have it in my cattle guard up front. I need to go grub it out this week.