Cirsium remotifolium |
Cirsium vulgare |
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few-leaved thistle, weak thistle |
bull thistle, common thistle |
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Habit | Plants biennial or monocarpic perennial, 2–15 dm; taprooted or from creeping roots. | Plants biennial, 3–20 dm; taprooted. |
Stems | usually 1; slender, arachnoid-villous, sometimes thinly so. |
usually single, spreading-villous, sometimes arachnoid. |
Leaves | linear-oblong to elliptic, 7–35 × 1–15 cm; margins entire to dentate or pinnately lobed; lobes triangular-ovate to linear; spines fine, 1–6 mm; surfaces abaxially thinly to densely tomentose, adaxially glabrate to thinly arachnoid-villous; basal occasionally present at flowering, sessile, clasping, or petiolate. |
oblong-lanceolate to obovate, 15–40 × 6–15 cm; margins 1–2-pinnate; lobes lanceolate to triangular; spines 2–10(15) mm; surfaces abaxially tomentose; ± villous, adaxially glabrate to sparsely tomentose, with appressed bristle-like spines; basal absent or present at flowering, sessile, decurrent, or petiolate. |
Involucres | hemispheric to campanulate, 1–2.5 × 1.5–3.5 cm, glabrous to thinly arachnoid-villous. |
hemispheric to campanulate, 2–4 × 2–4 cm, thinly tomentose. |
Florets | corollas 16–25 mm, cream-colored to purple; tubes 6–12 mm; throats 5–10.5 mm; lobes 3.5–8 mm; styles conspicuously exserted; tips 4–6 mm. |
corollas 25–35 mm, purple, rarely white; tubes 18–25 mm; throats 3–6 mm; lobes 5–9 mm; style tips 3.5–6 mm. |
Phyllaries | subequal to strongly imbricate, sometimes with inconspicuous glutinous ridges; spines 1–6 mm; outer bases ? 2 mm wide. |
without glutinous ridges; spines 1–5 mm. |
Fruits | 4.5–5.5 mm, tan to dark brown; pappi 12–25 mm. |
3–5 mm, light brown with darker streaks; pappi 20–30 mm. |
Heads | few–many. |
few to many. |
Cirsium remotifolium |
Cirsium vulgare |
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Distribution | ||
Discussion | Western United States. 3 varieties. Cirsium remotifolium is known to form fertile hybrids with C. edule where their ranges overlap. |
Disturbed areas, pastures. Flowering Jun–Sep. 0–2000 m. All ecoregions. CA, ID, NV, WA; throughout North America; worldwide. Exotic. Cirsium vulgare is our only species with bristle-like spines on the upper leaf surface. This species is considered a noxious weed and is unpalatable to most livestock. |
Source | Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 228 Bridget Chipman |
Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 230 Bridget Chipman |
Sibling taxa | ||
Subordinate taxa | ||
Web links |
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