Cirsium

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iCirsium

Cirsium vulgare (Spear Thistle)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Subfamily:	Lactucoideae
Tribe:	Cardueae
Genus:	Cirsium

Species

See text.

Cirsium is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the Asteraceae, one of several genera known popularly as thistles.

They are known for their effusive flowered heads (usually purple, rose, yellow, or white). The radially symmetrical disk flowers are situated at the end of the branches. They have erect, prickly stems and leaves, with a characteristic focal point at the base of the flower which is particularly spiny. The leaves are alternate and can be slightly hairy; Their stem wings can be lacking (Cirsium arvensis), conspicuous (Cirsium vulgare), or inconspicuous. They can spread by seed and rhizome (Cirsium arvensis) or by seed alone. Their seed has tiny tufts of hair, which can carry them far by wind.

Cirsium thistles are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species - see list of Lepidoptera which feed on Cirsium.

Most species are considered weeds, but some are cultivated in gardens for their aesthetic value, and blessed thistle is believed to be a galactagogue. Some common species: Cirsium lanceolatum, Cirsium palustre, Cirsium oleraceum.

The word 'Cirsium' derives from the Greek word kirsos, meaning 'swollen vein'. Thistles were used as a remedy against swollen veins.

[edit] Species

Cirsium acarna - Soldier Thistle
Cirsium acaule - Stemless Thistle, Dwarf Thistle
Cirsium altissimum - Roadside Thistle, Tall Thistle
Cirsium amblylepis - Mt. Tamalpais Thistle
Cirsium andersonii - Anderson's Thistle, Rose Thistle
Cirsium andrewsii - Franciscan Thistle
Cirsium araneans - Jeweled Thistle
Cirsium arcuum - Powderpuff Thistle
Cirsium aridum - Desert Thistle
Cirsium arizonicum - Arizona Thistle
Cirsium arvense - Creeping Thistle, Field Thistle, Canada Thistle
- Cirsium arvense var.argenteum
- Cirsium arvense var. integrifolium
- Cirsium arvense var. mite
- Cirsium arvense var. vestitum
Cirsium barnebyi - Barneby's Thistle
Cirsium brachycephalum
Cirsium brevifolium - Palouse Thistle
Cirsium brevistylum - Clustered Thistle
Cirsium calcareum - Cainville Thistle
Cirsium californicum - California Thistle

Queen Anne's Thistle (Cirsium canum)

Cirsium callilepis - Fringebract Thistle
Cirsium canescens - Platte Thistle, Prairie Thistle
Cirsium canovirens - Graygreen Thistle
Cirsium canum - Queen Anne's Thistle
Cirsium carolinianum - Carolina Thistle, Soft Thistle
Cirsium caulescens
Cirsium centaureae
Cirsium chellyense - Queen Thistle
Cirsium chuskaense - Monarch Thistle
Cirsium ciliolatum - Ashland Thistle
Cirsium clavatum - Lake Thistle
Cirsium clokeyi - Charleston Mountain Thistle, Whitespine Thistle
Cirsium congdonii - Rosette Thistle
Cirsium costaricense
Cirsium coulteri - Coulter’s Thistle
Cirsium crassicaule - Slough Thistle
Cirsium cymosum - Peregrine Thistle
Cirsium diacanthum
Cirsium discolor - Field Thistle, Pasture Thistle
Cirsium douglasii - Thistle
Cirsium drummondii - Dwarf Thistle
Cirsium durangense
Cirsium eatonii - Eaton's Thistle
Cirsium edule - Edible Thistle
Cirsium engelmannii - Engelmann Thistle, Engelmann's Thistle
Cirsium eriophorum - Woolly Thistle
Cirsium erisithales - Yellow Melancholy Thistle
Cirsium esculentum
Cirsium flodmanii - Flodman Thistle, Flodman's Thistle
Cirsium foliosum - Drummond's Thistle, Elk Thistle, Leafy Thistle, Meadow Thistle
Cirsium fontinale - Fountain Thistle
Cirsium gilense - Gila Thistle
Cirsium grahamii - Graham's Thistle
Cirsium griseum - Gray Thistle
Cirsium hallii - Hall's Thistle
Cirsium helenioides - Melancholy Thistle, Common Melancholy Thistle
Cirsium heterophyllum - Melancholy Thistle
Cirsium hillii - Hill's Thistle
Cirsium hookerianum - White Thistle
Cirsium horridulum - Yellow Thistle
Cirsium humboldtense - Humboldt County Thistle
Cirsium hydrophilum - Suisun Thistle
Cirsium hypoleucum
Cirsium inornatum - Cloudcroft Thistle
Cirsium japonicum - Japanese Thistle
Cirsium kamtschaticum - Kamchatka Thistle
Cirsium lanatum - Hairy Thistle

Bumblebee on thistle flower

Cirsium laterifolium - Porcupine Thistle
Cirsium lecontei - Le Conte's Thistle
Cirsium leo
Cirsium libanoticum
Cirsium loncholepis - LaGgraciosa Thistle
Cirsium longistylum - Longstyle Thistle
Cirsium maritimum
Cirsium mendocinum - Mendocino Thistle
Cirsium mexicanum - Mexican Thistle
Cirsium modestum - Lacy Thistle
Cirsium mohavense - Mojave Thistle
Cirsium murdockii - Murdock's Thistle
Cirsium muticum - Swamp Thistle
Cirsium navajoense - Navajo Thistle
Cirsium neomexicanum - Lavender Thistle, New Mexico Thistle
Cirsium nipponicum
Cirsium nuttallii - Nuttall's Thistle
Cirsium occidentale -Cobweb Thistle
Cirsium ochrocentrum - Yellowspine Thistle
Cirsium oleraceum - Cabbage thistle
Cirsium olivescens - Summer Thistle
Cirsium oreophilum - Crow Thistle
Cirsium osterhoutii - Osterhout's Thistle
Cirsium ownbeyi - Ownbey's Thistle
Cirsium pallidum - Pale Thistle
Cirsium palustre - Marsh thistle, European Swamp Thistle
Cirsium parryi - Parry's Thistle
Cirsium pastoris - Snowy Thistle
Cirsium peckii - Steen Mountain Thistle
Cirsium pendulum
Cirsium perplexans - Rocky Mountain Thistle
Cirsium pitcheri - Pitcher's Thistle, Sand Dune Thistle
Cirsium praeteriens - Palo Alto Thistle, Lost Thistle
Cirsium pulcherrimum - Wyoming Thistle
Cirsium pumilum - Pasture Thistle
Cirsium pyrenaicum
Cirsium quercetorum - Alameda County Thistle
Cirsium remotifolium - Fewleaf Thistle
- Cirsium remotifolium var. remotifolium - Fewleaf Thistle
Cirsium repandum - Sandhill Thistle
Cirsium rhaphilepis
Cirsium rhothophilum - Surf Thistle
Cirsium rivulare
Cirsium rothrockii - Rothrock's Thistle
Cirsium rusbyi - Rusby's Thistle
Cirsium rydbergii - Rydberg's Thistle
Cirsium scabrum - Rough Thistle
Cirsium scapanolepis - Mountain slope Thistle
Cirsium scariosum - Meadow Thistle
Cirsium scopulorum - Mountain Thistle
Cirsium segetum
Cirsium serrulatum
Cirsium spinosissimum
Cirsium subniveum - Gray Thistle, Jackson Hole Thistle
Cirsium tanakae
Cirsium texanum - Texas Thistle
Cirsium tioganum - Stemless Thistle
Cirsium turneri - Cliff Thistle
Cirsium undulatum - Gray Thistle, Wavy-leaf Thistle, Wavyleaf Thistle
- Cirsium undulatum var. tracyi - Tracy's Thistle, Wavyleaf Thistle
- Cirsium undulatum var. undulatum - Wavyleaf Thistle
Cirsium validus - Graceful Thistle
Cirsium vernale - Spring Thistle
Cirsium vinaceum - Sacramento Mountain Thistle, Sacramento Mountains Thistle
Cirsium virginense - Virgin Thistle
Cirsium virginianum - Virginia Thistle
Cirsium vulgare - Spear Thistle, Bull Thistle, Common Thistle, Fuller's Thistle (syn. C. lanceolatum)
Cirsium wheeleri - Wheeler Thistle, Wheeler's Thistle
Cirsium wrightii - Wright Thistle, Wright's Thistle