Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Cirsium carolinianum
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Carolina Thistle at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cirsium carolinianum
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-25-008:
Carduus carolinianus
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
COMMON NAME:
Carolina Thistle, Spring Thistle, Soft Thistle
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_c_carolinianum_1
August
Involucres 0.6-0.8" high, bracts appressed, only outer with short spines, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians.
COMPARE
involucral bracts of Thistles
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_c_carolinianum_61
September
Corollas pink-purple (white), throats noticeably wider than tubes, per Flora of North America.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Cirsium carolinianum
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cirsium carolinianum
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-25-008:
Carduus carolinianus
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
3383
Forb
Biennial/Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Documented growing wild in GA NC SC
Rare
Look for it in prairies, open woodlands over mafic, ultramafic, or calcareous rocks, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Leaf margins spiny
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Disc: Purplish
Rays: Absent
Bisexual
Inferior ovary
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States p131
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p284
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p333
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains p185