Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cirsium altissimum
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Tall Thistle at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cirsium altissimum
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Cirsium altissimum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-25-006:
Carduus altissimus FAMILY Asteraceae__
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cirsium altissimum
COMMON NAME:
Tall Thistle
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_cial2_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm220722_9318
July Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm170818_638
August Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm170818_641
August Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm170818_642
August Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm070927_016b
September Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Involucres have the middle and outer bracts tipped with a spine, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm070927_017
September Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
)
JK Marlow jkm070927_021
September Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Involucres 2-3.5cm long, 2-3.5cm broad, weakly arachnose, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
involucral bracts of Thistles
)
JK Marlow jkm120910_572
September Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm120910_583
September Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm120910_591
September Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Leaves lobed or unlobed, leaf margins not revolute, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm120910_594
September Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Stems are smooth and leaves are white-woolly on the undersides, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm120910_600
September Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Most of its cauline leaves are unlobed, though they may have large teeth, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm120910_607
September Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Heads pedunculate, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm120910_611
September Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm180903_4527
September Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm180903_4529
September Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
Leaves densely white-hairy beneath, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm210914_3686
September Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm210914_3687
September Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm210919_3730
September Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm210919_3731
September Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm210919_3732
September Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm220908_9759
September Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_cirsium_altissimum
September
)
JK Marlow s070927_ef
September Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
)
JK Marlow jkm151024_540b
October Greenville County SC
Blue Wall Preserve
The pappus is plumose [feathery], per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm151030_622
October Greenville County SC
Blue Wall Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm151030_625
October Greenville County SC
Blue Wall Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm151030_628
October Greenville County SC
Blue Wall Preserve
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cirsium altissimum
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cirsium altissimum
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Cirsium altissimum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-25-006:
Carduus altissimus
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cirsium altissimum
332
Forb
Biennial
Habitat: Pastures, woodlands, thickets, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon (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.)
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Leaf margins spiny
LEAVES:
Simple: Lobed, unlobed and/or dissected
Alternate
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Disc: Purplish-lavender
Rays: Absent
Inferior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p430
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p068
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p283
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p333
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p185
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".
Or try alternate spellings: If "wooly" doesn't work, try "woolly" or just "wool".