Thistles
Botanical name: Cirsium
Thistles
Botanical name: Cirsium
Description
Thistles are sometimes known as plume thistles, distinguishing them from plumeless thistles. The name comes from the Greek word kirsos, which means swollen vein, because of their distinctive flower head shape. Many plants in this genus are important pollinators, especially for monarch butterflies. They are the national symbol of Scotland.
Species of Thistles
Cirsium lineare
Cirsium lineare are sometimes known as plume thistles, distinguishing them from plumeless thistles. The name comes from the Greek word kirsos, which means swollen vein, because of their distinctive flower head shape. Many plants in this genus are important pollinators, especially for monarch butterflies. They are the national symbol of Scotland.
Cirsium pendulum
Cirsium pendulum are sometimes known as plume thistles, distinguishing them from plumeless thistles. The name comes from the Greek word kirsos, which means swollen vein, because of their distinctive flower head shape. Many plants in this genus are important pollinators, especially for monarch butterflies. They are the national symbol of Scotland.
Cabbage thistle
Cabbage thistle is so named since it is a member of the thistle family and has wide, cabbage-like leaves. Its Latin name, oleraceum, continues this cabbage comparison, as it translates to "vegetable" or "herbal." cabbage thistle has a history of cultivation in India and Japan.
Pasture thistle
Pasture thistle (Cirsium pumilum) is indigenous to North America. This plant loves to grow in rocky soil where there’s barely any moisture. This makes it a super hardy species. In the United States, you’ll find it proliferating across prairies. Unfortunately, it’s rapidly losing habitat due to the encroachment of civilization.
Texas thistle
Texas thistle (Cirsium texanum) is a plant species that attracts the painted lady butterfly. In addition, goldfinches love to eat texas thistle seeds and the silky material that surrounds the seeds. This plant's flowers look like miniature pom-poms and can be either pink or lavender.
Meadow thistle
Meadow thistle (Cirsium dissectum) is an erect perennial with red-purple blossoms that appear each summer. Unlike many other species of thistle, it lacks spines; instead, this plant sports a series of short prickles. It can be difficult to raise in captivity if the damp, boggy areas it prefers are not perfectly replicated.
Edible thistle
Cirsium edule, or edible thistle, is a native North American herbaceous perennial plant with a tall, upright growth habit that can reach up to 1.2 m. It produces large, purple flowers that are attractive to pollinators and is used in the garden for attracting wildlife. Edible thistle has economic value as a crop, with its leaves and stems used in the production of thistle oil. It is tough and hardy, resistant to pests and diseases, and can grow in various soil types and withstand drought. However, it can be toxic to pets if ingested.
Marsh thistle
Marsh thistle (Cirsium palustre) is a thorny weed native to Europe and western Asia, which has become invasive in North America. It grows in wet fields and marshlands. Archaeological evidence suggests marsh thistle has spread alongside human farmlands for thousands of years, expanding its territory as cultivation expands.
Japanese thistle
The stem height is 50 to 100 cm. The leaves cleave like feathers and have thorns on the edges. The base of the foliage holds the stem. Root leaves remain in the flowering season. The flowering season is from spring to summer and some of thistles have the characteristics of spring blooming but rarely bloom until fall. The flower (head-like inflorescence) is composed only of cylindrical flowers and the diameter is 4 to 5 cm. The flower is purple but rarely white.
New mexico thistle
The new mexico thistle (Cirsium neomexicanum) is indigenous to the southwestern United States, as well as northwestern Mexico. It is a tall plant whose gray-green stems and leaves are prickly and hairy, providing both a nesting structure and material for native bees. The large flowers may be pink, purple or white. It is not considered invasive.
Queen anne's thistle
It is a perennial plant with four-winged stems and spiny green, lanceolate, shiny leaves with spiny edges. The violet flowers are tubular in the form of terminal bushes. The fruits are vilanos.
Tall thistle
Tall thistle is native to the central and eastern United States and does not bloom until its second year. When it does produce flowers, they are a purplish pink, fragrant, and produce a large amount of nectar that attracts pollinators of all kinds. It dies after flowering.
Field thistle
The Cirsium discolor is an American natives biennial or perennial herb that reaches up to 2 m tall. The field thistle's flowers are large and showy, which produce a good amount of nectar and pollens. It is an important food source of bees and butterflies. The young leaves and stems can be boiled and served as edible greens.
Bull thistle
Bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare) is a thistle plant native to Europe, Africa, and Asia. Bull thistle produces a large amount of nectar and attracts pollinators. Bull thistle is considered a noxious weed in areas of Europe and Australia.
Yellow thistle
Yellow thistle (Cirsium horridulum) is a flowering plant related to the sunflower that is native to North America. Yellow thistle is also referred to as the Horrible Thistle, the Spiny Thistle, and the "Bigspine Thistle." Thomas Nuttall, an English botanist who worked in America, called the plant "terribly armed."
Creeping thistle
This aggressive weed spreads across grasslands and fields via underground roots that creep horizontally, some for more than 5 m. It can cause major problems to agriculture if its growth is left unchecked. Its seeds feed many birds as well as pest insects. Creeping thistle is generally considered a noxious weed even in its native territory.
Brook thistle 'Atropurpureum'
This cultivar is a taller, more attractive version of the traditional thistle plant. The brook thistle 'Atropurpureum' has deeply crimson tops that grow from tall erect stems, bordered by dark green leaves with spines. It is appreciated for its height and its hardiness in the face of full frost.
Korean thistle
Korean thistle are sometimes known as plume thistles, distinguishing them from plumeless thistles. The name comes from the Greek word kirsos, which means swollen vein, because of their distinctive flower head shape. Many plants in this genus are important pollinators, especially for monarch butterflies. They are the national symbol of Scotland.
Canada thistle
Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense var. integrifolium) is a plant species native to Europe and western Asia. Canada thistle attracts pollinators like bees which are attracted to its nectar. This species can be differentiated from other variants by the shape of its leaves.
Cobwebby Thistle
Cobwebby Thistle (Cirsium occidentale) is a biennial plant species that forms a taproot and is related to the sunflower. Cobwebby Thistle can grow grow up to 3 m or in low clumps. This species is native to the western United States.
Arizona thistle
Arizona thistle is found in higher elevations (900 to 3600 m above sea level) in the southwestern United States and Mexico. The entire Cirsium genus, including arizona thistle, is listed as a noxious weed in certain U.S. states, like Arkansas and Iowa.
Wooly thistle
Wooly thistle is a tall thistle that can grow up to 1.5 m tall. It's widely distributed across Europe, mostly in disturbed sites, along roads, and in lime, chalk, or generally rich soil. With its pink flower and bracts surrounded by wooly hairs, it attracts various insects, but mostly bees.
Brook thistle
Brook thistle's flower heads have the characteristic thistle appearance, but the plant's petals sport a deeper shade of purple. Brook thistle is a popular ornamental, often grown in borders and alongside grasses and tall perennials. Rivulare from the Latin name translates to 'growing by a stream'. This, and 'brook' featuring in the plant's common name, represent its preferred habitat.
Swamp thistle
Swamp thistle (Cirsium muticum) is native to the central and eastern parts of North America. It acts as a host for some species of butterflies and moths, including the threatened swamp metalmark butterfly. This is one of the few thistles planted in gardens, as it is decorative, not invasive, and attracts pollinators.
Wavyleaf thistle
Wavyleaf thistle (Cirsium undulatum) is a perennial shrub that will grow to 1.8 m tall. It takes about 7 to 10 years to bloom and only blooms once before dying. Blooms appear in summer. It grows from seed and from deep underground running roots called rhizomes. Birds are attracted to the seeds.
Thorny thistle
Native to Europe, thorny thistle, also known as Cirsium spinosissimum, grows in dry rocky areas. Thorny thistle gets its common name because all parts of this thistle species are completely covered in spines.
Meadow thistle
A member of the aster family, meadow thistle is a biennial herb with a long taproot and purple disk flowers. It is generally found in western North America in a variety of habitats.
Tuberous thistle
The Knollige Kratzdistel is a perennial herbaceous plant that reaches stature heights between usually 40 and 1.5 m. The root fibers are fused into a spindle-shaped tuber. The wingless, spider web hairy stems grow upright, is one to three headed and very rarely also has a small leaf above the middle.
Cirsium anartiolepis
Cirsium anartiolepis are sometimes known as plume thistles, distinguishing them from plumeless thistles. The name comes from the Greek word kirsos, which means swollen vein, because of their distinctive flower head shape. Many plants in this genus are important pollinators, especially for monarch butterflies. They are the national symbol of Scotland.
Carnic thistle
It is a thorny plant that reaches 3 m in height and 1 m in length, with terminal tubular flowers on erect, elegant stems. long and leafless that are topped by a huge pink-magenta thistle head.
Cirsium ciliatum
Cirsium ciliatum are sometimes known as plume thistles, distinguishing them from plumeless thistles. The name comes from the Greek word kirsos, which means swollen vein, because of their distinctive flower head shape. Many plants in this genus are important pollinators, especially for monarch butterflies. They are the national symbol of Scotland.
Cirsium simplex
Cirsium simplex is found in alpine and rocky meadows by streams. The purple flowers mark its difference from the otherwise similar C. armenum. Cirsium simplex derives its genus name from the Greek word ‘khirsos,’ which means ‘swollen vein.’
Dwarf thistle
Dwarf thistle are sometimes known as plume thistles, distinguishing them from plumeless thistles. The name comes from the Greek word kirsos, which means swollen vein, because of their distinctive flower head shape. Many plants in this genus are important pollinators, especially for monarch butterflies. They are the national symbol of Scotland.
Scientific Classification
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