Cirsium eatonii var. murdockii
northern mountain thistle
erect or ascending, stout, 10–75 cm.
faces glabrous or nearly so or abaxial ± villous and/or tomentose with septate or non-septate trichomes.
2–3 cm, thinly to densely tomentose with septate or non-septate trichomes (phyllaries sometimes obscured by tomentum).
white to pink or lavender, 17–23 mm, tubes 6–10 mm, throats 5–8 mm, lobes 3–6 mm.
green or purplish-tinged;
outer with few lateral spines;
apical spines slender.
sessile or short-pedunculate in erect, few-headed, subcapitate or spiciform arrays.
11–18 mm.
= 34 (as C. tweedyi).
Cirsium eatonii var. murdockii
Of conservation concern.
Variety murdockii grows in the central Rocky Mountains from central Idaho and southern Montana to western Wyoming and northern Colorado. It also grows in the Ruby Mountains of northern Nevada and the Uintah Mountains of northeastern Utah. Considerable variation occurs in quantity and quality of pubescence of the involucres of var. murdockii. In some individuals the pubescence is so dense that it obscures the phyllary bodies whereas in others the individual phyllaries are clearly visible. Most commonly the pubescence consists primarily of septate trichomes, but sometimes finer non-septate trichomes predominate. Both types of trichomes may be present.
Variety murdockii is known to hybridize with Cirsium pulcherrimum var. pulcherrimum and C. scariosum var. scariosum in Wyoming.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CalFlora
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
