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 a seed with a pappus of feathered hairs on their achenes. The other genera have a pappus of simple unbranched hairs.
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.
Cirsium quercetorum is a species of thistle endemic to coastal California, its common names include brownie thistle and Alameda thistle.
Cirsium occidentale, with the common name cobweb thistle or cobwebby thistle, is a North American species of thistle in the family Asteraceae.
Cirsium discolor, the field thistle, 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. 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.
Cirsium rhothophilum is a rare North American species of thistle known by the common name surf thistle. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from the coastline around the border between San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. It grows in sand dunes and coastal scrub near the beach.
Cirsium scariosum is a species of thistle known by the common names meadow thistle, elk thistle and dwarf thistle. It is native to much of western North America from Alberta and British Columbia, south to Baja California. There are also isolated populations on the Canadian Atlantic Coast, on the Mingan Archipelago in Québec, where it is called the Mingan thistle.
Cirsium undulatum is a species of thistle known by the common names wavyleaf thistle and gray thistle. It is native to much of central and western North America from British Columbia east to Manitoba and south as far as the State of Durango in Mexico. It has also been found outside of its native range as an introduced species.
Cirsium pumilum var. hillii is a type of thistle endemic to North America. The common name for this plant is Hill's thistle.
Cirsium brevifolium is a North American species of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. Common name is Palouse thistle. The species is native to the northwestern United States, in the States of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The plant is particularly common in the Palouse Prairie near Pullman, Washington. It grows in grassy areas and along roadsides.
Cirsium carolinianum is a North American species of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. Common name is Carolina thistle or purple thistle or soft thistle or smallhead thistle. The species is native to the central and southern United States, from eastern Texas east to Virginia and the Carolinas, north to the Ohio Valley.
Cirsium clavatum, the Fish Lake thistle or fringed thistle, is a North American species of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. The species is native to the western United States, the States of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Cirsium drummondii, called Drummond's thistle, dwarf thistle or short-stemmed thistle, is a North American species of plant in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. The species is native to central and western Canada, in every province from Ontario to British Columbia, plus the Northwest Territories. In the United States, it has been found only in the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota.
Cirsium foliosum , also called leafy thistle, foliose thistle, elk thistle, or Evert's thistle, is a North American plant species in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. The species is native to Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Alberta, British Columbia, and Wyoming.
Cirsium helenioides, the melancholy thistle, is an Asian and Arctic species of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. The species is native to Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Xinjiang, Kazakhstan.
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 longistylum, the long-style thistle, is a North American species of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. The species is found only in the central part of the State of Montana in the United States, in the portions of the Rocky Mountains called the Big Belt, Castle, Elkhorn, and Little Belt ranges.
Cirsium nuttallii, called Nuttall's thistle, is a North American species of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. The species is native to the coastal plain of the southeastern and south-central United States, from eastern Texas to southeastern Virginia.
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.
Cirsium texanum is a species of plant in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae found in North America. Common names include Texas thistle, Texas purple thistle or southern thistle. The species is native to northern Mexico and the southern Great Plains of the south-central United States. It grows in prairies and roadsides.
