Cirsium discolor

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Cirsium discolor
Cirsium discolor (3254496224).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Cirsium
Species:
C. discolor
Binomial name
Cirsium discolor
(Muhl. ex Willd.) Spreng.
Synonyms [1]
  • Carduus discolor(Muhl. ex Willd.) Nutt.
  • Cnicus altissimus f. albifloraBritton
  • Cnicus altissimus var. discolor(Muhl. ex Willd.) A.Gray
  • Cnicus discolorMuhl. ex Willd.

Cirsium discolor, the field thistle, [2] is a North American species of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. It is native to thirty-three states in the United States as well four Canadian provinces. [3] It occurs across much of eastern and central Canada as well as eastern and central United States. It has been found from New Brunswick west to Saskatchewan and south as far as Texas and Georgia. [4]

Contents

Field thistle is a biennial or perennial herb up to 200 cm (78.5 in) tall, producing a large taproot. There is usually only one stem with numerous spiny leaves that are green on the upper side but white and woolly underneath. The plant's flower heads are large and showy and have the pale to medium value purplish magenta coloration (lilac, lavender, pinkish purple, purplish pink) that is especially attractive to butterflies. [5] The same color can be seen in the flowers of the genus Liatris , among many others. Heads have many disc florets but no ray florets. The species grows primarily in damp areas in forest openings, prairies, and disturbed sites. [6]

It is used as a component of some North American prairie and wildflower meadow restoration mixes that focus on the use of native species. Like most other thistles, it is a food plant for the caterpillars of the Painted Lady butterfly. [7] Most thistles produce a large quantity of nectar and pollen. The large flower heads make them attractive to large butterflies like migrating monarchs. [7] Bumblebees also make use of thistles, gathering the pollen. [7] Hummingbirds sometimes gather nectar from them. [7] This species is of similar size, height, and appearance to the Bull Thistle, but it is less spiny, has whitish leaf undersides, and, unlike Bull Thistle, often has quite pale flowers. [7] Many thistle species are monocarpic. This means that the plant will flower once and then die. Reproduction of this flower is dependent on seed distribution. This includes interaction with insects, habitat, and weather conditions.

A field thistle (Cirsium discolor) in summer FieldThistleInSpring1920X1024.jpg
A field thistle (Cirsium discolor) in summer
A field thistle (Cirsium discolor) in autumn FieldThistleInAutumn1920X1024.jpg
A field thistle (Cirsium discolor) in autumn

Uses

The flower heads, when mashed, have been reported to release a substance that acts similarly to rennin and can curdle milk to aid in the production of cheese. [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Cirsium</i> Genus of flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae

Cirsium is a genus of perennial and biennial flowering plants in the Asteraceae, one of several genera known commonly as thistles. They are more precisely known as plume thistles. These differ from other thistle genera in having feathered hairs to their achenes. The other genera have a pappus of simple unbranched hairs.

<i>Onopordum acanthium</i> Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae

Onopordum acanthium is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Europe and Western Asia from the Iberian Peninsula east to Kazakhstan, and north to central Scandinavia, and widely naturalised elsewhere, with especially large populations present in the United States and Australia. It is a vigorous biennial plant with coarse, spiny leaves and conspicuous spiny-winged stems.

<i>Cirsium vulgare</i> Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae

Cirsium vulgare, the spear thistle, bull thistle, or common thistle, is a species of the Asteraceae genus Cirsium, native throughout most of Europe, Western Asia, and northwestern Africa. It is also naturalised in North America, Africa, and Australia and is an invasive weed in some areas. It is the national flower of Scotland.

<i>Cirsium arvense</i> Species of flowering plant

Cirsium arvense is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native throughout Europe and western Asia, northern Africa and widely introduced elsewhere. The standard English name in its native area is creeping thistle. It is also commonly known as Canada thistle and field thistle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thistle</span> Common name of a group of flowering plants

Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the plant – on the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. These prickles are an adaptation that protects the plant from being eaten by herbivores. Typically, an involucre with a clasping shape similar to a cup or urn subtends each of a thistle's flower heads. The typically feathery pappus of a ripe thistle flower is known as thistle-down.

<i>Cirsium edule</i> Species of thistle

Cirsium edule, the edible thistle or Indian thistle, is a species of thistle in the genus Cirsium, native to western North America from southeastern Alaska south through British Columbia to Washington and Oregon, and locally inland to Idaho. It is a larval host to the mylitta crescent and the painted lady.

<i>Packera obovata</i> Species of plant

Packera obovata, commonly known as roundleaf ragwort, spoon-leaved ragwort, roundleaf groundsel, or squaw-weed, is an erect perennial herb in the Asteraceae (aster) family native to eastern North America. It was previously called Senecio obovatus. Basal and lower leaves are obovate with toothed margins, while upper leaves are pinnately divided. The ray flowers are yellow and the disk flowers orange-yellow, the inflorescences being held well above the foliage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noxious weed</span> Harmful or invasive weed

A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or livestock. Most noxious weeds have been introduced into an ecosystem by ignorance, mismanagement, or accident. Some noxious weeds are native. Typically they are plants that grow aggressively, multiply quickly without natural controls, and display adverse effects through contact or ingestion. Noxious weeds are a large problem in many parts of the world, greatly affecting areas of agriculture, forest management, nature reserves, parks and other open space.

<i>Liatris pycnostachya</i> Species of flowering plant

Liatris pycnostachya, the prairie blazing star, cattail gayfeather or cattail blazing star, is a perennial plant in the Asteraceae family that is native to the tallgrass prairies of the central United States.

<i>Cirsium eriophorum</i> Species of plant

Cirsium eriophorum, the woolly thistle, is a herbaceous biennial species of flowering plant in the genus Cirsium of the family Asteraceae. It is widespread across much of Europe. It is a large biennial plant with sharp spines on the tips of the leaves, and long, woolly hairs on much of the foliage. The flower heads are large and nearly spherical, with spines on the outside and many purple disc florets but no ray florets.

<i>Cirsium arizonicum</i> Species of thistle

Cirsium arizonicum, the Arizona thistle, is a North American species of thistle in the family Asteraceae, native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. It has been found in Arizona, southeastern California, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Sonora, and northwestern Chihuahua.

<i>Cirsium neomexicanum</i> Species of thistle

Cirsium neomexicanum is a North American species of thistle known by the common names New Mexico thistle, powderpuff thistle, lavender thistle, foss thistle and desert thistle.

<i>Cirsium occidentale</i> Species of thistle

Cirsium occidentale, with the common name cobweb thistle or cobwebby thistle, is a North American species of thistle in the family Asteraceae.

<i>Erigeron strigosus</i> Species of plant

Erigeron strigosus is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names prairie fleabane, common eastern fleabane, and daisy fleabane.

<i>Rubus flagellaris</i> Species of shrub

Rubus flagellaris, the northern dewberry, also known as the common dewberry, is a North American species perennial subshrub species of dewberry, in the rose family. This dewberry is distributed across much of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It grows in diverse habitats ranging from drier savannas to temperate deciduous forests.

<i>Cirsium altissimum</i> Species of plant

Cirsium altissimum is a North American species of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. Common names are tall thistle or roadside thistle. The species is native to the eastern and Central United States.

<i>Cirsium horridulum</i> Species of thistle

Cirsium horridulum, called bristly thistle, purple thistle, or yellow thistle is a North American species of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. It is an annual or biennial. The species is native to the eastern and southern United States from New England to Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma as well as to Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Bahamas.

Cirsium pumilum, the pasture thistle, is a North American species of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. The species is native to the northeastern and north-central United States as well as to the Canadian Province of Ontario.

<i>Monarda bradburiana</i> Species of flowering plant

Monarda bradburiana, the eastern beebalm or Bradbury's beebalm, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, that is native to much of the southeastern United States.

<i>Verbesina alternifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Verbesina alternifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is commonly known as wingstem or yellow ironweed. It is native to North America.

References

  1. "The Plant List, Cirsium discolor (Muhl. ex Willd.) Spreng".
  2. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Cirsium discolor". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  3. "Cirsium discolor (Muhl. ex Willd.) Spreng. field thistle". USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. USDA. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  4. "Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map". Archived from the original on October 16, 2012.
  5. Roth, Sally (2002). Attracting Butterflies & Hummingbirds to Your Backyard. USA: Rodale Books. p. 28. ISBN   0875968880.
  6. "Cirsium discolor in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Dr. John Hilty. "Pasture Thistle". Illinois Wildflowers. John Hilty. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  8. Haragan, Patricia Dalton (1991). Weeds of Kentucky and Adjacent States. The University Press of Kentucky. p. 187.

Native Thistles: A Conservation Practitioner's Guide | Xerces Society