Cirsium

Inflorescence of creeping thistle ( Cirsium arvense)

The thistles ( Cirsium ) constitute a genus in the subfamily Carduoideae within the sunflower family ( Asteraceae).

The botanical name is derived from the Greek kirsos ago for varicose veins. Various types have been used in ancient times against it.

Features

Thistle species are one-, two-year or perennial herbaceous plants, reaching heights of growth from 5 to 400 cm depending on the type. The plants are armed thorny. The erect stem may be branched and are sometimes winged thorny. The leaves are toothed or lobed one -to three- fold.

The bloom conditions, either singly or collectively in total branched inflorescences. The flower heads have diameter 1-8 cm and contain from 25 to 200 florets. The many bracts are available in five to twenty rows, they usually have a thorny tip. The inflorescence bottom is flat to convex. The radial symmetry to more or less zygomorphic tubular flowers have long, cylindrical Kronröhren and are pink, purple, red or yellow.

The achenes are smooth. Unlike the otherwise similar ring the Pappushaare thistles are in turn covered with small hairs ( pinnate ).

Types (selection)

There are about 200 Cirsium species in North America, Eurasia and Africa.

  • Stemless thistle ( Cirsium acaule (L.) Scop. )
  • Mountain thistle ( Cirsium alsophilum ( Pollini ) Soldano; Syn: C. montanum ( Willd.) Spreng. )
  • Creeping Thistle ( Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. )
  • Short -headed thistle ( Cirsium brachycephalum Jur )
  • Candelabrum- thistle ( Cirsium candelabrum Griseb. )
  • Grey thistle ( Cirsium canum (L. ) All. )
  • Krainer thistle ( Cirsium carniolicum Scop. ), With the sub-species: subsp. carniolicum
  • Subsp. rufescens ( DC. ) P. Fourn. , is found only in Spain and France.
  • Subsp. creticum
  • Subsp. dictaeum Greuter, Matthaes & cracks, is only found on Crete.
  • Subsp. gaillardotii ( Boiss. ) PH Davis & Parris, occurs only in the Middle East.
  • Subsp. triumfettii ( Lacaita ) K. Werner

Pictures

English thistle ( Cirsium dissectum )

Melancholy Thistle ( Cirsium heterophyllum )

Cabbage thistle ( Cirsium oleraceum )

Marsh thistle ( Cirsium palustre )

Bach thistle ( Cirsium rivulare )

Alpine thistle ( Cirsium spinosissimum )

Spear Thistle ( Cirsium vulgare)

Armköpfige thistle ( Cirsium waldsteinii )

Swell

  • David J. Keil: Cirsium. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee ( eds.): Flora of North America North of Mexico. Volume 19: Magnoliophyta: unranked, part 6: Asteraceae, part 1 ( Mutisieae - Anthemideae ), Oxford University Press, New York / Oxford et al 2006, ISBN 0-19-530563-9, pp. 95, online ( engl. ).
  • Werner Greuter, Eckhard von Raab - Straube ( Eds.): Med - Checklist. A critical inventory of vascular plants of the circum - mediterranean countries. Vol 2 ( Dicotyledones: Compositae). Organization for the Phyto - Taxonomic Investigation of the Mediterranean Area ( OPTIMA ), Geneva 2008, ISBN 978-2-8279-0011-4, pp. 157-171.
  • Werner Greuter: Compositae (per parte majore ): Cirsium. In: Werner Greuter, Eckhard von Raab - Straube ( Eds.): Compositae. Euro Med Plant Base - the information resource for Euro - Mediterranean plant diversity. Berlin 2006-2009.
Philip Miller Pappus (flower structure)
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