FNA: Cirsium lecontei

	Cirsium lecontei
	black or Le Conte's thistle, Le Conte's thistle
Habit	Perennials but sometimes appearing biennial, 35–110 cm; taproots, sometimes with root sprouts.
Stems	1–few, erect, distal 1/2 nearly naked, loosely arachnoid; branches 0–5(–10), stiffly ascending.
Leaves	blades linear to oblong or narrowly elliptic, 15–25 × 1–4 cm, coarsely toothed to shallowly pinnatifid, lobes undivided or coarsely few-toothed, main spines 3–6 mm, abaxial faces often ± glabrate, loosely arachnoid when young, adaxial glabrous or sparingly villous with coarse, multicellular trichomes; basal sometimes absent at flowering, petiolate; principal cauline sessile, progressively reduced distally, bases clasping or ± decurrent; distal cauline few, widely separated, bractlike.
Peduncles	5–30 cm (elevated above cauline leaves, not subtended by ring of involucre-like bracts).
Involucres	broadly cylindric to campanulate, 2.5–4 × 1.5–4 cm, loosely arachnoid, ± glabrate.
Corollas	pink-purple, 22–45 mm, tubes 10–23 mm, throats 8–14 mm, lobes 7–10 mm; style tips 4–5 mm.
Phyllaries	in 6–10 series, imbricate, ovate or lanceolate (outer) to linear-lanceolate (inner), abaxial faces with prominent glutinous ridge, outer and middle tightly appressed, margins spinulose-serrulate, spines ascending, 0.5–2 mm; apices of inner flat, linear- acuminate.
Heads	borne singly or less commonly 2–5(–10) in open, corymbiform arrays.
Cypselae	light brown, 5–5.75 mm, apical collars paler than body, ca. 0.75 mm; pappi 20–40 mm.
2n	= 28, 32.

	Cirsium lecontei
Phenology	Flowering spring–summer (May–Aug).
Habitat	Sandy pinelands of coastal plain, often in damp soil
Elevation	0–150 m (0–500 ft)
Distribution	AL; FL; LA; MS; NC; SC [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion	Of conservation concern. Cirsium lecontei occurs on the southern coastal plain. R. J. Moore and C. Frankton (1969) suggested that it originated as a derivative of ancient hybridization between the ancestors of C. horridulum and C. nuttallii. They further suggested a relationship between C. lecontei and C. grahamii of Arizona and hypothesized an ancient dispersal from the southeastern coastal plain to the western cordillera. Although such relationships are possible, I have seen little support for them in my examination of these taxa. I think it is more likely that C. lecontei, C. horridulum, and C. nuttallii originated from a common stock, and that the resemblances between C. lecontei and C. grahamii are a result of convergence. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source	FNA vol. 19, p. 114.
Parent taxa	Asteraceae > tribe Cardueae > Cirsium
Sibling taxa	C. altissimum, C. andersonii, C. andrewsii, C. arizonicum, C. arvense, C. barnebyi, C. brevifolium, C. brevistylum, C. canescens, C. carolinianum, C. ciliolatum, C. clavatum, C. crassicaule, C. cymosum, C. discolor, C. douglasii, C. drummondii, C. eatonii, C. edule, C. engelmannii, C. flodmanii, C. foliosum, C. fontinale, C. grahamii, C. helenioides, C. hookerianum, C. horridulum, C. hydrophilum, C. inamoenum, C. joannae, C. kamtschaticum, C. longistylum, C. mohavense, C. muticum, C. neomexicanum, C. nuttallii, C. occidentale, C. ochrocentrum, C. ownbeyi, C. palustre, C. parryi, C. perplexans, C. pitcheri, C. praeteriens, C. pulcherrimum, C. pumilum, C. quercetorum, C. remotifolium, C. repandum, C. rhothophilum, C. rydbergii, C. scariosum, C. texanum, C. tracyi, C. turneri, C. undulatum, C. vinaceum, C. virginianum, C. vulgare, C. wheeleri, C. wrightii
Synonyms	Carduus lecontei
Name authority	Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 2: 458. (1843)
Web links	Local Web sites: LA Plants WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Cirsium lecontei

black or Le Conte's thistle, Le Conte's thistle

Habit

Perennials but sometimes appearing biennial, 35–110 cm; taproots, sometimes with root sprouts.

Stems

1–few, erect, distal 1/2 nearly naked, loosely arachnoid;

branches 0–5(–10), stiffly ascending.

Leaves

blades linear to oblong or narrowly elliptic, 15–25 × 1–4 cm, coarsely toothed to shallowly pinnatifid, lobes undivided or coarsely few-toothed, main spines 3–6 mm, abaxial faces often ± glabrate, loosely arachnoid when young, adaxial glabrous or sparingly villous with coarse, multicellular trichomes;

basal sometimes absent at flowering, petiolate;

principal cauline sessile, progressively reduced distally, bases clasping or ± decurrent;

distal cauline few, widely separated, bractlike.

Peduncles

5–30 cm (elevated above cauline leaves, not subtended by ring of involucre-like bracts).

Involucres

broadly cylindric to campanulate, 2.5–4 × 1.5–4 cm, loosely arachnoid, ± glabrate.

Corollas

pink-purple, 22–45 mm, tubes 10–23 mm, throats 8–14 mm, lobes 7–10 mm;

style tips 4–5 mm.

Phyllaries

in 6–10 series, imbricate, ovate or lanceolate (outer) to linear-lanceolate (inner), abaxial faces with prominent glutinous ridge, outer and middle tightly appressed, margins spinulose-serrulate, spines ascending, 0.5–2 mm;

apices of inner flat, linear- acuminate.

Heads

borne singly or less commonly 2–5(–10) in open, corymbiform arrays.

Cypselae

light brown, 5–5.75 mm, apical collars paler than body, ca. 0.75 mm;

pappi 20–40 mm.

= 28, 32.

Cirsium lecontei

Phenology

Flowering spring–summer (May–Aug).

Habitat

Sandy pinelands of coastal plain, often in damp soil

Elevation

0–150 m (0–500 ft)

Distribution

AL; FL; LA; MS; NC; SC

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Cirsium lecontei occurs on the southern coastal plain. R. J. Moore and C. Frankton (1969) suggested that it originated as a derivative of ancient hybridization between the ancestors of C. horridulum and C. nuttallii. They further suggested a relationship between C. lecontei and C. grahamii of Arizona and hypothesized an ancient dispersal from the southeastern coastal plain to the western cordillera. Although such relationships are possible, I have seen little support for them in my examination of these taxa. I think it is more likely that C. lecontei, C. horridulum, and C. nuttallii originated from a common stock, and that the resemblances between C. lecontei and C. grahamii are a result of convergence.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source

FNA vol. 19, p. 114.

Parent taxa

Asteraceae > tribe Cardueae > Cirsium

Sibling taxa

C. altissimum, C. andersonii, C. andrewsii, C. arizonicum, C. arvense, C. barnebyi, C. brevifolium, C. brevistylum, C. canescens, C. carolinianum, C. ciliolatum, C. clavatum, C. crassicaule, C. cymosum, C. discolor, C. douglasii, C. drummondii, C. eatonii, C. edule, C. engelmannii, C. flodmanii, C. foliosum, C. fontinale, C. grahamii, C. helenioides, C. hookerianum, C. horridulum, C. hydrophilum, C. inamoenum, C. joannae, C. kamtschaticum, C. longistylum, C. mohavense, C. muticum, C. neomexicanum, C. nuttallii, C. occidentale, C. ochrocentrum, C. ownbeyi, C. palustre, C. parryi, C. perplexans, C. pitcheri, C. praeteriens, C. pulcherrimum, C. pumilum, C. quercetorum, C. remotifolium, C. repandum, C. rhothophilum, C. rydbergii, C. scariosum, C. texanum, C. tracyi, C. turneri, C. undulatum, C. vinaceum, C. virginianum, C. vulgare, C. wheeleri, C. wrightii

Synonyms

Carduus lecontei

Name authority

Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 2: 458. (1843)

Web links

Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).

Choose a data source: Flora of North America

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Cirsium lecontei

Cirsium lecontei