NameThatPlant.net: Cirsium altissimum

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 VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-25-006:

Carduus altissimus FAMILY Asteraceae__

COMMON NAME:
Tall Thistle

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 VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-25-006:
Carduus altissimus FAMILY Asteraceae__

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.

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!

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".