Broad-winged Thistle
Carduus acanthoides
Description 7
Carduus acanthoides may exceed 2 metres (6.6 ft) in height and can form weedy monotypic stands. The stem and foliage are spiny and sometimes woolly. The plant starts from a flat basal rosette and then bolts an erect stem with occasional toothed, wrinkled, spiny leaves.
At the top of each branch of the stem is an inflorescence of one to several flower heads, each rounded, covered in spiny phyllaries, and bearing many threadlike purple disc florets. The achenes are 2–3 mm long, with faint lengthwise stripes. Pappus bristles are 11–13 mm long.
Invasive species 7
Carduus acanthoides is well known in many other parts of the world, including parts of North and South America, New Zealand, and Australia, as a noxious weed. It is an invasive species in many regions of Canada and the United States, including California and West Virginia. The California Department of Food and Agriculture has an active program to control known populations. Carduus acanthoides presents multiple factors This invasive species has spread easily across different regions due to the fact that it spreads through its seeds, and each plant itself creates around 1,000 seeds alone.
National distribution 8
Canada
Origin: ExoticRegularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
United States
Origin: ExoticRegularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Unknown/Undetermined
Confidence: Confident
Sources and Credits
- (c) Superior National Forest, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/53801642@N06/5097841962
- (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/PhotosMedium/JCS%20Carduus%20acanthoides%2026880.jpg
- (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/photos/jcs-carduus-acanthoides-58910.jpg
- (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/PhotosMedium/JCS%20Carduus%20acanthoides%2026883.jpg
- (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/PhotosMedium/JCS%20Carduus%20acanthoides%2019910.jpg
- (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/PhotosMedium/Carduus%20acanthoides%2000004.JPG
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carduus_acanthoides
- (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/29072749
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- African Plants - a photo guide
- Atlas of Living Australia
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- Calflora
- CalPhotos
- eFloras.org
- Flora of North America (beta)
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- Go Botany
- HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
- IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
- Jepson eFlora
- Maryland Biodiversity Project
- NatureServe Explorer 2.0
- NBN Atlas
- New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
- OregonFlora.org
- SEINet Symbiota portals
- Tropicos
- USDA PLANTS database
- VASCAN by Canadensys
- World Flora Online
Range Map
iNat Map
| Flower color | pink |
|---|---|
| Special status | MD noxious weed |
