E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of BC

Cirsium edule var. macounii Nutt. (Greene) D.J.Keil
edible thistle
Asteraceae (Aster family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

Map

Distribution of Cirsium edule var. macounii
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Species Information

General:
Stout biennial or perennial herb from a taproot; stems ribbed, sparsely to moderately hairy, simple to branched, 0.3-2.0 m tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves broadly lanceolate, up to 40 cm long, green to dark green above, glabrous or sparsely hairy above and below, irregularly lobed or coarsely toothed, usually more than 1/2 the width of the leaf blade, margins of the segments with 3-5 slender, yellow spines; stem leaves narrowly elliptic or oblong, 10-16 cm long, alternate, otherwise similar to the basal, uppermost reduced.

Flowers:
Heads solitary to many in small clusters at the ends of branches, nodding when young; involucres egg-shaped, 2-4 cm tall; involucral bracts linear-lanceolate, moderately to densely cobwebby, not much graduated, outer ones tapering to a prominent 1-2 mm spine, innermost unarmed; disk flowers purplish-pink, 12-24 mm long; styles exceeding the flowers by 3-8 mm.

Fruits:
Achenes prismatic, several-nerved, glabrous, purplish-black; pappus buff or whitish, feathery bristles.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat and Range

Moist to mesic meadows, avalanche tracks and open forests in the upper montane to lower alpine zones; frequent throughout BC; S to N OR.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer.

Synonyms

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Carduus macounii Greene
Cirsium hallii (A. Gray) M.E. Jones
Cirsium macounii (Greene) Rydb.

Taxonomic Keys

TAXONOMIC KEY TO CIRSIUM

1. Heads small; involucres 1-2 (rarely 2.5) cm tall; plants introduced.

2. Stems distinctly spiny-winged; plants with perfect flowers C. palustre
2. Stems not conspicuously spiny-winged; plants partly of male and female flowers........ C. arvense

1. Heads large; involucres more than 2 cm tall; plants native (except C. vulgare).

3. Leaves bristly-spiny above, stems distinctly spiny-winged............ C. vulgare
3. Leaves cobwebby to loosely woolly-hairy, woolly or nearly glabrous above, stems not spiny-winged.

4. Pappus of mature seeds exceeding the corollas by 1-10 mm.............. C. foliosum
4. Pappus of mature seeds shorter than the corollas.

5. Heads large; involucres 3-5 cm tall........... C. drummondii
5. Heads small; involucres less than 3 cm tall.

6. Outer involucral bracts more than 2 mm wide at base, slightly if at all hairy and if so, then mainly marginal.

7. Outer involucral bracts strongly glandular; lowermost leaves deeply pinnately lobed more than 1/2 the width of the blade.............. C. undulatum
7. Outer involucral bracts without glands; lowermost leaves shallowly pinnately lobed to 1/2 or less the width of the blade............... C. scariosum

6. Outer involucral bracts less than 2 mm wide at base, densely cobwebby.

8. Corollas white or creamy-white, rarely pinkish; involucral bracts greenish............. C. hookerianum
8. Corollas purplish-red to purplish-pink; outer involucral bracts purplish.

9. Styles exceeding the corollas by at least 3 mm; achenes 5-6.5 mm long; leaves usually lobed more than 1/2 the width of the blade.............. C. edule
9. Styles nearly equal to or exceeding the corollas by only 1.5 mm; achenes 4-4.5 mm long; leaves usually lobed less than 1/2 the width of the blade................. C. brevistylum

Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia