elk thistle (meadow thistle)
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Map
Distribution of Cirsium scariosum var. scariosum
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Species Information
General:
Biennial or perennial herb from a taproot; stems erect, thick, fleshy, ribbed, sparsely hairy, simple or with a few short upper branches, 0.2-1.0 m tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves egg-shaped to elliptic, entire to nearly entire, stalked; lower stem leaves narrowly egg-shaped, tapering to the base, stalked, shallowly to pinnately lobed, marginally spiny with numerous, slender, yellow spines up to 10 mm long, lobed 1/2 or less the width of the blade, segments lanceolate to deltoid, green and nearly glabrous above, woolly-hairy below; the uppermost leaves narrower, ascending, extending beyond the compact group of heads.
Flowers:
Heads discoid, 5-15, in a terminal cluster or rarely at the ends of the few branches or in the leaf axils; involucres bell-shaped, 2-3 cm tall; involucral bracts without glands, essentially glabrous except for the sparse marginal hairs, outer ones egg-shaped to lanceolate, with a slender 2-4 mm long spine, inner ones unarmed, the tips membranous, often dilated, papery and irregularly-margined; disk flowers white to pink, 18-30 mm long, the tubes 9-13 mm long, the lobes 4-6 mm long.
Fruits:
Achenes 5.5-6.5 mm long, light or dark brown with a narrow, yellow apical band; pappus light yellow, 2-3 cm long, shorter than the corollas by 4-5 mm.
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
Dry open forests in the montane zone; rare in SE BC, known recently only from Crowsnest Pass and Akamina Creek; E to AB and S to ID, MT, CO and AZ.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Carduus americanus (A. Gray) Rydb.
Cirsium erosum (Rydb.) K. Schum. (pro sp.), database artifact
Cirsium americanum (A. Gray) K. Schum.
Cirsium scariosum var. thorneae Welsh
Cirsium tioganum (Congd.) Petr.
Cirsium tioganum var. coloradense (Rydb.) Dorn
Cirsium tioganum var. tioganum (Congd.) Petr.
Cnicus drummondii var. acaulescens Rydb.
Cnicus tioganus Congd.
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 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
4. Pappus of mature seeds exceeding the corollas by 1-10 mm.............. C. foliosum
5. Heads large; involucres 3-5 cm tall........... C. drummondii 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 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
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 Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia |