Cirsium palustre |
Cirsium crassicaule |
|
---|---|---|
cirse ou chardon des marais, European Marsh thistle, European swamp or marsh thistle, European swamp thistle, marsh thistle |
slough thistle |
|
Habit | Biennials or monocarpic perennials, 30–200(–300) cm; clusters of fibrous roots. | Annuals or biennials, (60–)100–300 cm; taprooted. |
Stems | single, erect, villous to tomentose with jointed trichomes, distally tomentose with fine, unbranched trichomes; branches 0–few, ascending, (short). |
usually 1, erect, stout, (hollow, 2–10 cm diam. at base), openly branched distally, thinly arachnoid, villous with jointed trichomes, at least proximally. |
Leaves | blades narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate, 15–30+ × 3–10 cm, margins shallowly to very deeply pinnatifid, narrow lobes separated by broad sinuses, spiny-dentate to lobed, main spines 2–6 mm, abaxial villous to tomentose with jointed trichomes, sometimes also thinly tomentose with fine unbranched trichomes, adaxial faces villous with septate trichomes or glabrate; basal often present at flowering, petioles spiny-winged, bases tapered; cauline many, sessile, gradually reduced and becoming widely spaced above, bases long-decurrent with prominently spiny wings; distal cauline deeply pinnatifid with few-toothed spine-tipped lobes. |
blades elliptic to broadly oblanceolate, 15–70 × 30–150+ cm, flat, pinnatifid 1/2–2/3 distance to midvein, larger usually with broad sinuses, lobes broad, few lobed or dentate, main spines 3–8 mm, abaxial faces gray-tomentose, adaxial thinly arachnoid-tomentose, sometimes midveins with jointed trichomes; basal present or withered at flowering, winged-petiolate; principal cauline sessile, progressively reduced distally, bases clasping or short-decurrent 1–2 cm; distal cauline reduced, becoming bractlike, sometimes spinier than proximal. |
Peduncles | 0–1 cm. |
0–15 cm. |
Involucres | ovoid to campanulate, 1–1.5 × 0.8–1.3 cm, thinly cobwebby tomentose with fine unbranched trichomes. |
ovoid to campanulate, 1.5–3 × 1.5–3 cm, ± glabrous. |
Corollas | lavender to purple (white), 11–13 mm, tubes 5–7 mm, throats 2–3 mm, lobes 3–4.5 mm; style tips 1.5–2 mm. |
pale rose-purple (white), 19–26 mm, tubes 9–12 mm, throats 4–6 mm, lobes 5–9 mm; style tips 3.5–4.5 mm. |
Phyllaries | in 5–7 series, strongly imbricate, greenish, or with purplish tinge, lanceolate to ovate (outer) or linear-lanceolate (inner), margins thinly arachnoid-ciliate, abaxial faces with narrow glutinous ridge, outer and middle appressed, entire, apices acute, mucronate or spines erect or spreading, weak, 0.3–1 mm; apices of inner phyllaries purplish, linear-attenuate, scarious, flat. |
in 5–7 series, weakly unequal, dark green to brownish, lanceolate (outer) to linear (inner), abaxial faces without (or with very obscure) glutinous ridge; outer and middle appressed or apices spreading, at least outer irregularly spiny-fringed, finely serrulate, spines slender, 3–5 mm; apices of inner erect, abaxial faces gray-tomentose, ± twisted. |
Heads | few–many in dense clusters at branch tips. |
1–several at branch tips, closely subtended by clustered leafy bracts or not, collectively forming open, corymbiform or paniculiform arrays. |
Cypselae | tan to stramineous, 2.5–3.5 mm, apical collars 0.1–0.2 mm, shiny; pappi 9–11 mm. |
dark brown, 5–5.5 mm, collars narrow, ± stramineous; pappi 15–20 mm. |
2n | = 34. |
= 32. |
Cirsium palustre |
Cirsium crassicaule |
|
Phenology | Flowering summer (Jul–Aug). | Flowering spring (Apr–Jun). |
Habitat | Marshes, wet forests | Freshwater marshes, canal banks |
Elevation | 10–800 m (0–2600 ft) | 5–100 m (0–300 ft) |
Distribution |
MA; MI; NH; NY; WI; BC; NF; NS; ON; QC; SPM; Europe [Introduced in North America]
|
CA |
Discussion | Cirsium palustre is a noxious weed, native to Europe, that invasively spreads through wetland communities, forming impenetrable spiny stands as it displaces native species. The range of this pernicious weed in North America is rapidly expanding. It has the potential to spread into boreal forest areas across the continent; in Europe it grows nearly to the Arctic Circle. The rapid spread of C. palustre in Michigan (E. G. Voss 1972–1996, vol. 3) is indicative of its invasiveness. Spontaneous hybrids between C. palustre and C. arvense have been reported from England and other European countries (W. A. Sledge 1975) and can be expected wherever these species grow together in North America. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Cirsium crassicaule is known only from a few sites in the San Joaquin Valley. Some populations are threatened by habitat modification and development pressures. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 19, p. 110. | FNA vol. 19, p. 132. |
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Cardueae > Cirsium | Asteraceae > tribe Cardueae > Cirsium |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Carduus palustris | Carduus crassicaulis |
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Scopoli: Fl. Carniol. ed. 2, 2: 128. (1772) | (Greene) Jepson: Fl. W. Calif., 506. (1901) |
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