Cirsium discolor (Muhlenberg ex Willdenow) Sprengel. Common name: Field Thistle. Phenology: Aug-Nov. Habitat: Pastures, woodlands, thickets. Distribution: QC west to MB, south to NC, MS, LA, and KS.
Origin/Endemic status: Native
Synonymy ⓘ: = Ar, C, F, FNA19, G, Il, K4, Mi, NE, NY, Oh3, Pa, POWO, S, SE1, Tn, Va, W; = Carduus discolor (Muhl. ex Willd.) Nutt. — RAB. Basionym: Cnicus discolor Muhl. ex Willd. 1803
Links to other floras: = Cirsium discolor - FNA19
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Wetland Indicator Status:
- Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: UPL
- Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: UPL
- Great Plains: FACU
- Midwest: FACU
- Northcentral & Northeast: UPL
Heliophily ⓘ: 8
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© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
© Richard & Teresa Ware CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
© Joey Shaw source | Original Image ⭷
© Joey Shaw source | Original Image ⭷
© Joey Shaw source | Original Image ⭷
© Richard & Teresa Ware CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷Feedback
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Horticultural Information
Intro: Erect biennial/perennial of pastures, floodplain forests, woodlands, clearings and thickets.
Stems: Stems strongly furrowed, branched near the top, usually hairy.
Leaves: Leaves alternate, short-petiolate to sessile, lance-shaped or oval, 4-10 in. long (reduced upward), deeply divided into sharp-tipped and variably sized lobes, with yellowish prickles on the margins and densely white-woolly beneath.
Inforescence:
Flowers: Composite flowers (heads) 1-several at top of stem, subtended by small bract-like leaves; heads 1 1/2-2 in. wide, consisting of numerous purple to white tubular florets, each with 5 thread-like lobes. Tightly held green and white, spiny bracts surround the urn-shaped base of each head.
Fruits: Fruit a fluffy cluster of seeds, each with a tuft of white hairs.
Comments:
Height: 2-8 ft.
plant sale text:
bloom table text:
description: Erect biennial/perennial of pastures, floodplain forests, woodlands, clearings and thickets.
stems: Stems strongly furrowed, branched near the top, usually hairy.
leaves: Leaves alternate, short-petiolate to sessile, lance-shaped or oval, 4-10 in. long (reduced upward), deeply divided into sharp-tipped and variably sized lobes, with yellowish prickles on the margins and densely white-woolly beneath.
inflorescence:
flowers: Composite flowers (heads) 1-several at top of stem, subtended by small bract-like leaves; heads 1 1/2-2 in. wide, consisting of numerous purple to white tubular florets, each with 5 thread-like lobes. Tightly held green and white, spiny bracts surround the urn-shaped base of each head.
fruits: Fruit a fluffy cluster of seeds, each with a tuft of white hairs.
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