Cirsium neomexicanum

Last updated

Cirsium neomexicanum
New Mexico Thistle, Cirsium neomexicanum blossom, Albuquerque.JPG
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe)
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. neomexicanum
Binomial name
Cirsium neomexicanum
Synonyms [1]
Synonymy
  • Carduus neomexicanus(A.Gray) Greene
  • Carduus nevadensisGreene
  • Cirsium arcuumA.Nelson
  • Cirsium canescensA.Gray
  • Cirsium humboldtenseRydb.
  • Cirsium nevadense(Greene) Petr. 1917 not Willk. 1859
  • Cirsium utahensePetr.
  • Cnicus neomexicanus(A.Gray) A.Gray

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. [2] [3]

Contents

This plant is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, particularly the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts. It has been found in California, Nevada, Arizona, Sonora, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. [4] [5]

Description

Cirsium neomexicanum is a tall plant, routinely exceeding 2 metres (6+712 ft) in height. It erects a stem which may have webby fibers and long, stiff spines. The sparse leaves are greenish-gray, hairy, and very spiny. [6]

Atop the mainly naked stems are inflorescences of one or more large flower heads with rounded bases and phyllaries covered in long, curving spines. The largest heads may be up to 5 centimeters (2 inches) in diameter. They are packed with white or lavender to pink disc florets but no ray florets. [6] [7]

The fruit is a flat brown achene with a long pappus which may reach 2 cm long. Unlike many other thistles, this species tends not to be a troublesome noxious weed. [6]

Related Research Articles

<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>Dicoria canescens</i> Species of flowering plant

Dicoria canescens is a North American flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by several common names including desert twinbugs and bugseed. This is a desert plant of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, found in Sonora, Baja California, southern California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, southwestern Colorado, and northwestern New Mexico.

<i>Chaenactis fremontii</i> Species of flowering plant

Chaenactis fremontii, with the common names Frémont's pincushion and desert pincushion, is a species of annual wildflower in the daisy family. Both the latter common name, and the specific epithet are chosen in honor of John C. Frémont.

<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>Encelia virginensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Encelia virginensis is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Virgin River brittlebush. This shrub is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, particularly the Mojave Desert and the Sonoran Desert. It has been found in Baja California, southern California, Nevada, Arizona, southwestern Utah, and southwestern New Mexico.

<i>Ericameria laricifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Ericameria laricifolia is a North American species of flowering shrub in the family Asteraceae known by the common name turpentine bush, or turpentine-brush. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico (Chihuahua).

<i>Erigeron utahensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Erigeron utahensis is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Utah fleabane.

<i>Ageratina herbacea</i> Species of flowering plant

Ageratina herbacea is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae known by the common names fragrant snakeroot and Apache snakeroot. It is native to desert regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It grows in rocky slopes in conifer forests and woodlands.

<i>Baileya pauciradiata</i> Species of flowering plant

Baileya pauciradiata is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family which is known by the common names laxflower and Colorado desert marigold. It is native to the deserts of northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It has been found in the States of California, Arizona, Nevada, Baja California, and Sonora.

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

Cirsium mohavense is a species of thistle known by the common names virgin thistle and Mojave thistle. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it grows in moist areas in otherwise dry habitat, such as desert springs. It is most common in the Mojave Desert, found also in the southern Great Basin and other nearby regions of California, Nevada, western Arizona, and southwestern Utah.

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

Cirsium ochrocentrum is a species of thistle known by the common name yellowspine thistle. It is native to the Great Plains of the Central United States and to the desert regions of the western United States and northern Mexico. Its range extends from eastern Oregon east to the Black Hills of South Dakota, south as far as the Mexican State of Durango.

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

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.

<i>Sonchus tenerrimus</i> Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae

Sonchus tenerrimus is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name slender sowthistle. It is native to the Mediterranean region of southern Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East. It has been found as well in several other locations around the world, historically in association with ship ballast in coastal regions. It has become naturalized in a few places, such as California in the United States and Baja California in Mexico.

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

Cirsium parryi, or Parry's thistle, is a species of North American flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it has been found in Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.

<i>Brickellia floribunda</i> Species of flowering plant

Brickellia floribunda, the Chihuahuan brickellbush, is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It is native to northern Mexico and the south-western United States.

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

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 grahamii, called Graham's thistle, is a North American species of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. The species is native to Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, Nuevo León, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Cirsium wheeleri is a North American species of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. Common names include Wheeler's thistle. It is native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States.

Erigeron lobatus is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name lobed fleabane. It has been found the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico as well as in the southwestern United States.

Erigeron oxyphyllus is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name wand fleabane. It is native to northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States.

References

  1. The Plant List, Cirsium neomexicanum A.Gray
  2. Calflora taxon report, University of California, Cirsium neomexicanum A. Gray, New Mexico thistle, desert thistle
  3. Shreve, F. & I. L. Wiggins. 1964. Vegetation and Flora of the Sonoran Desert 2 vols. Stanford University Press, Stanford
  4. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  5. SEINet, southwestern Biodiversity, Arizona Chapter, Cirsium neomexicanum A. Gray includes description, photos, distribution map
  6. 1 2 3 Flora of North America, Desert or New Mexico thistle, Cirsium neomexicanum A. Gray
  7. Taylor, Ronald J. (1994) [1992]. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary (rev. ed.). Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Pub. Co. p. 158. ISBN   0-87842-280-3. OCLC   25708726.