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Cirsium vulgare
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Tribe:	Cynareae
Genus:	Cirsium
Species:	C. vulgare
Binomial name
Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Ten.

Cirsium vulgare (Spear Thistle, Bull thistle, Plumed thistle, Roadside thistle; syn. C. lanceolatum) is a species of the genus Cirsium, native throughout Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but also present in North America as an invasive weed. It is designated an "injurious weed" under the UK Weeds Act 1959^[1] and a noxious weed in nine US states^[2].

Cirsium vulgare

It is a tall biennial thistle, forming a rosette of leaves in the first year, and a flowering stem 1-2.5 m tall in the second year. The leaves are very spiny, deeply lobed, up to 15-25 cm long (smaller on the upper part of the flower stem). The inflorescence is 2.5-5 cm diameter, pink-purple, with all the florets of similar form (no division into disc and ray florets). The seeds are 5 mm long, with a downy pappus which assists in wind dispersal.

References

1. ^ Defra, UK - Farming - Wildlife and plants - Ragwort and injurious weeds
2. ^ "PLANTS Profile for Cirsium vulgare (bull thistle) USDA PLANTS". USDA Plant Database. USDA. unknown. http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CIVU. Retrieved 2008-07-15.  

• Blanchan, Neltje (2005). Wild Flowers Worth Knowing. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  

External links

• Biological Control of Weeds - Biology - Bull Thistle

From Wikispecies

Cirsium vulgare

Taxonavigation

Classification System: APG II (down to family level)

Main Page
Cladus: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiospermae
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Euasterids II
Ordo: Asterales
Familia: Asteraceae
Subfamilia: Cichorioideae
Tribus: Cardueae
Subtribus: Carduinae
Genus: Cirsium
Species: Cirsium vulgare

Name

Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Ten.

Vernacular names

References

• Flora Napolitana : ossia, Descrizione delle piante indigene del regno di Napoli, e delle piu rare specie di piante esotiche coltivate ne' Giardini ... Napoli : Nella Stamperia reale 5:209. 1835-1836
• USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database]. [1]

For more multimedia, look at Cirsium vulgare on Wikimedia Commons.