Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Carduus nutans
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Nodding Thistle at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carduus nutans
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Carduus nutans
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Carduus nutans
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Carduus nutans ssp. macrolepis
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-25-014:
Carduus nutans FAMILY Asteraceae__
COMMON NAME:
Nodding Thistle, Musk Thistle
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_canu4_001_lvd
)
John B. Nelson jbn_3551391202_2cf2fa231c
May SC
)
JK Marlow jkm140603_386
June Pickens County SC
SC Botanical Garden
Heads ~ 2" wide, usually nodding, solitary at the ends of very long stalks, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_0343
June Hart County GA
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_177
June Anderson County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_180
June Anderson County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_181
June Anderson County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_215
June Hart County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_221
June Hart County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_222
June Hart County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_223
June Hart County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_229
June Hart County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_230
June Hart County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_233
June Hart County GA
The pappus bristles of Carduus are simple (vs. feathery in Cirsium), per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_235
June Hart County GA
)
Ron Lance rwl_carduus_nutans
June Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm0507h_22
July Pocahontas County WV
Roadside
The heads are not always nodding!
)
JK Marlow jkm060710_013
July Tucker County WV
Monongahela National Forest
A nodding head with broad, purplish reflexed involucral bracts, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
COMPARE
involucral bracts of Thistles
)
JK Marlow jkm060710_019
July Tucker County WV
Monongahela National Forest
Phyllaries 2-8mm wide, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm060710_025
July Tucker County WV
Monongahela National Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm060710_029
July Tucker County WV
Monongahela National Forest
)
JK Marlow s060710_b
July Tucker County WV
Monongahela National Forest
)
Mary Ellen (Mel) Harte, Bugwood.org bug_1358309
Month Unknown
)
Ken Chamberlain, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org bug_1560074
Month Unknown
)
Bruce Ackley, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org bug_5437937
Month Unknown
)
Bruce Ackley, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org bug_5437938
Month Unknown
Leaves very spiny, pinnately lobed, to 10" long and 4" wide", per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Bruce Ackley, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org bug_5437956
Month Unknown
)
Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org bug_5452032
Month Unknown
)
Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org bug_5452046
Month Unknown
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Carduus nutans
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carduus nutans
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Carduus nutans
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Carduus nutans
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Carduus nutans ssp. macrolepis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-25-014:
Carduus nutans
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
258
Forb
Biennial
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Eurasia
Common in Mountains, uncommon in Piedmont, rare in Coastal Plain
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Alabama Invasive Plant Council, 2012
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
- US Fish & Wildlife Service
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Leaf margins spiny
LEAVES:
Simple: Lobed, unlobed and/or dissected
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Disc: Purplish
Rays: Absent
Inferior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p288
- A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010) p110
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p430
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p064
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p281
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p330
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p185
- Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses (Murphy et al., 1992) p086
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".