Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cirsium carolinianum
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
Go to FSUS key
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 Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Cirsium carolinianum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-25-008:
Carduus carolinianus FAMILY Asteraceae__
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cirsium flaccidum
INCLUDING (MISAPPLIED) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cirsium virginianum
COMMON NAME:
Carolina Thistle, Spring Thistle, Soft Thistle, Prairie 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 (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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 OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cirsium carolinianum
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cirsium carolinianum
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Cirsium carolinianum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-25-008:
Carduus carolinianus
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cirsium flaccidum
INCLUDING (MISAPPLIED)
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cirsium virginianum
3383
Forb
Biennial/Perennial
Habitat: Prairies, open woodlands over mafic, ultramafic, or calcareous rocks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Rare
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
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Disc: Purplish
Rays: Absent
Inferior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p131
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p284
- 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".