OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cirsium vulgare   FAMILY Asteraceae__   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cirsium vulgare   FAMILY Asteraceae__

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)

Cirsium vulgare

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-25-001:

Carduus lanceolatus   FAMILY Asteraceae__

INCLUDED WITHIN (MISAPPLIED) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Cirsium lanceolatum

 

COMMON NAME:
Bull Thistle


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_cila8_001_lvd

        

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

USDA / Selected Weeds of the US. 1970    swus_page_399

        

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

Roxanna Martin    rlm4410_076

April    Spartanburg County    SC

Leaves elliptic to oblanceolate, hirsute to scabrous above, and dissected, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

Roxanna Martin    rlm52110_42

May    Spartanburg County    SC

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

Roxanna Martin    rlm52310_92

May    Spartanburg County    SC

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

Roxanna Martin    rlm53010_976

May    Spartanburg County    SC

A robust biennial 1-2m tall, leafy to near its summit, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

Roxanna Martin    rlm61210_60

June    Spartanburg County    SC

Pappus white, plumose [feathery], 2-3cm long, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

Roxanna Martin    rlm61809_146

June    Spartanburg County    SC

Involucral bracts narrowly pointed, rigid, not sticky, per Wildflowers in the Field and Forest: Northeastern US (Clemants & Gracie, 2006).


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE involucral bracts of Thistles

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_cirsium_vulgare

June        

Our only Cirsium with leaf bases that extend down stem forming prickly wings, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

Kevin Adams    kcacirsiumvulgare_35

July        NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

Involucres 1.0"-1.5" tall, bracts all have distinct yellowish spines, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

JK Marlow    jkm150927_230

September    Henderson County    NC

Bearwallow Mountain

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

JK Marlow    jkm150927_233

September    Henderson County    NC

Bearwallow Mountain

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

Steve Dewey, Utah State University, Bugwood.org    bug_1459723

Month Unknown        

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

Forest and Kim Starr, Starr Environmental, Bugwood.org    bug_5161005

Month Unknown        

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

Pedro Tenorio-Lezama, , Bugwood.org    bug_5203095

Month Unknown        

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

Bruce Ackley, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org    bug_5436693

Month Unknown        

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

Bruce Ackley, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org    bug_5436694

Month Unknown        

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

Bruce Ackley, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org    bug_5436705

Month Unknown        

image of Cirsium vulgare, Bull Thistle

Bruce Ackley, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org    bug_5436708

Month Unknown        

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cirsium vulgare   FAMILY Asteraceae__

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cirsium vulgare   FAMILY Asteraceae__

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Cirsium vulgare

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-25-001:
Carduus lanceolatus   FAMILY Asteraceae__

INCLUDED WITHIN (MISAPPLIED) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cirsium lanceolatum

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

257

Forb
Biennial

Habitat: Meadows, pastures, and disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora

Non-native: Europe

Common (uncommon in GA Piedmont) (rare in Coastal Plain of GA & SC)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.


INVASIVE

This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:

 

IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Leaf margins spiny

LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Disc: Purplish
Rays: Absent
Inferior ovary
Bisexual

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Achene

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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