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
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
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
Bisexual
Inferior ovary
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