Cirsium palustre

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Cirsium palustre
Cirsium palustre inflorescence - Niitvalja.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. palustre
Binomial name
Cirsium palustre
(L.) Scop.
Synonyms [1]
Selected synonyms
  • Carduus chailletiGodr.
  • Carduus laciniatusLam.
  • Carduus palustrisL.
  • Cirsium chailletiiGaudin
  • Cirsium kochianumLoehr
  • Cirsium laciniatumNyman
  • Cirsium lacteumSchleich. ex W.Koch
  • Cirsium palatinumSch.Bip. ex Nyman
  • Cirsium parviflorumLange ex Nyman
  • Cnicus palustris(L.) Willd.
  • Cynara palustrisStokes

Cirsium palustre, the marsh thistle [2] or European swamp thistle, is a herbaceous biennial (or often perennial) flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. [3] [4]

Contents

Description

Cirsium palustre is a tall thistle which reaches up to 2 metres (7 ft) in height. The strong stems have few branches and are covered in small spines. In its first year the plant grows as a dense rosette, at first with narrow, entire leaves with spiny, dark purple edges; later, larger leaves are lobed. In the subsequent years the plant grows a tall, straight stem, the tip of which branches repeatedly, bearing a candelabra of dark purple flowers, 10–20 millimetres (0.4–0.8 in) with purple-tipped bracts. In the northern hemisphere these are produced from June to September. The flowers are occasionally white, in which case the purple edges to the leaves are absent. [5]

Ecology

The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated first out of the top 10 for most nectar production (nectar per unit cover per year) in a UK plants survey conducted by the AgriLand project which is supported by the UK Insect Pollinators Initiative. [6]

It is native to Europe where it is particularly common on damp ground such as marshes, wet fields, moorland and beside streams. In Canada and the northern United States, it is an introduced species that has become invasive. It grows in dense thickets that can crowd out slower growing native plants. [7] [5] [8]

Cirsium palustre is broadly distributed throughout much of Europe and eastward to central Asia. This thistle's occurrence is linked to the spread of human agriculture from the mid-Holocene era or before. [9] It is a constant plant of several fen-meadow plant associations, including the Juncus subnodulosus-Cirsium palustre fen-meadow. [9] The flowers are visited by a wide variety of insects, featuring a generalised pollination syndrome. [10]

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

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<i>Mentha aquatica</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Lotus pedunculatus</i> Species of legume

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

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<i>Equisetum palustre</i> Species of vascular plant in the horsetail family Equisetaceae

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<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 spinosissimum</i> Species of thistle

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

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

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

Cirsium dissectum, also known as meadow thistle, is an erect perennial herb. It is found in Great Britain, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Norway, etc. It is found in fens and less acidic peat bogs i.e. it prefers damp boggy areas.

<i>Carex disticha</i> Species of grass-like plant

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<i>Carex acutiformis</i> Species of grass-like plant

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<i>Thalictrum alpinum</i> Species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae

Thalictrum alpinum is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common names alpine meadow-rue and arctic meadow-rue. It is native to Arctic and alpine regions of North America and Eurasia, including Alaska, northern Canada, and Greenland, and it occurs in cold, wet, boggy habitats in high mountains farther south.

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

Cirsium erisithales, the yellow thistle or yellow melancholy thistle, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae.

<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>Pedicularis palustris</i> Species of flowering plant

Pedicularis palustris, commonly known as marsh lousewort or red rattle, is a plant species in the family Orobanchaceae. It is native to central and northern Europe and Asia where it grows in wetlands and boggy habitats. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of least concern.

References

  1. "Cirsium palustre (L.) Scop". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  2. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. J. S. Rodwell. 1998. British Plant Communities, p. 227
  4. Altervista Flora Italiana, Cardo di palude, Sumpf-Kratzdistel, kärrtistel, Cirsium palustre (L.) Scop. includes photos and European distribution map
  5. 1 2 Flora of North America, European swamp or marsh thistle, cirse ou chardon des marais, Cirsium palustre (Linnaeus) Scopoli
  6. "Which flowers are the best source of nectar?". Conservation Grade. 2014-10-15. Archived from the original on 2019-12-14. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
  7. "Marsh Plume Thistle, Aliens Among Us". Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  8. Biota of North America Program 22014 county distribution map
  9. 1 2 C. Michael Hogan. 2009. Marsh Thistle: Cirsium palustre, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Strömberg Archived December 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  10. Van Der Kooi, C. J.; Pen, I.; Staal, M.; Stavenga, D. G.; Elzenga, J. T. M. (2015). "Competition for pollinators and intra-communal spectral dissimilarity of flowers". Plant Biology. 18 (1): 56–62. doi:10.1111/plb.12328. PMID   25754608.