Cirsium carolinianum

(Walter) Fernald & B. G. Schubert

Rhodora 50: 229. 1948.

Common names: Carolina or purple or soft or smallhead thistle
Endemic
Basionym: Carduus carolinianus Walter Fl. Carol., 195. 1788
Synonyms: Cirsium flaccidum (Small) Petrak
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 19. Treatment on page 118. Mentioned on page 98.

Biennials, 50–180 cm; taproots short with many slender, fibrous lateral roots. Stems usually single, erect, glabrous to ± tomentose, sometimes sparsely villous with septate trichomes; branches few, usually distal, ascending. Leaves: blades linear to oblanceolate or elliptic, 10–30 × 1–5 cm, unlobed and spinulose to irregularly dentate or pinnatifid, lobes narrowly to broadly triangular, sometimes coarsely toothed or lobed toward base, acuminate, main spines slender, 1–5 mm, abaxial faces gray-tomentose, adaxial glabrous or sparsely villous with septate trichomes; basal often present at flowering, petioles slender, winged, bases long-tapered; principal cauline relatively few (10–25), petiolate or distal sessile, mostly restricted to proximal 1/2 of stems, progressively reduced distally, bases tapered, not decurrent; distal cauline widely separated, linear to narrowly elliptic, reduced, becoming ± bractlike, merely spinulose to irregularly dentate or shallowly lobed. Heads (1–) 2–9 (–many), in paniculiform arrays. Peduncles slender, 1–15 cm (not overtopped by distal leaves). Involucres narrowly ovoid to campanulate, 1.2–2 × 1.2–2 cm, thinly arachnoid-ciliate. Phyllaries in 7–10 series, imbricate, green, linear to lanceolate (outer) or linear to linear-lanceolate (inner), abaxial faces with narrow, glutinous ridge; outer and middle ascending to appressed, bodies entire, apices widely spreading (at least the outer), spines ascending to spreading (at least the outer), slender, 1–4 mm; apices of inner phyllaries flat, often twisted, acuminate. Corollas pink-purple (white), 15–20 mm, tubes 5–9 mm, throats 5–7 mm (noticeably wider than tubes), lobes 4–5 mm; style tips 4 mm. Cypselae light-brown, 3–4 mm, apical collars yellowish, 0.5–1 mm; pappi 12–14 mm. 2n = 20, 22.


Phenology: Flowering spring–summer (Apr–Jul).
Habitat: Wooded areas, openings, fields, roadsides
Elevation: 50–300 m

Distribution

V19-70-distribution-map.gif

Ala., Ark., Ga., Ill., Ind., Ky., La., Miss., Mo., N.C., Ohio, Okla., S.C., Tenn., Tex.

Discussion

Cirsium carolinianum is widely distributed in the southeastern United States: on the Gulf coastal plain from Texas to Alabama north through the Ouachita and Ozark highlands to southeastern Missouri; in the Ohio River Valley from southernmost Illinois to southern Ohio and northern Kentucky; and in the southern Appalachians and Piedmont from Alabama and Tennessee to southern Virginia. Cirsium carolinianum, though widespread, is a taxon of conservation concern over part of its range. The replacement of open woods by dense forests brought about by fire suppression has greatly reduced available habitat.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"fine" is not a number.

... more about "Cirsium carolinianum"
villous +  and glabrous +
short-tailed +
spineless +  and twisted +
dentate +, entire +  and spine-tipped +
innermost +
rounded;acute +
scarious +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
paniculiform +
indeterminate +  and determinate +
David J. Keil +
(Walter) Fernald & B. G. Schubert +
not decurrent +, tapered +  and long-tapered +
Carduus carolinianus +
compound +  and simple +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br />) +
pinnatifid;dentate;unlobed;linear;oblanceolate or elliptic +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
10-nerved or 20-nerved +  and rugose +
tawny +  and white +
Carolina or purple or soft or smallhead thistle +
actinomorphic +
white +  and pink red yellow or purple +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
compressed +  and ovoid +
fertile +  and bisexual +
linear +  and narrowly elliptic +
lobed +, dentate +  and bractlike +
Ala. +, Ark. +, Ga. +, Ill. +, Ind. +, Ky. +, La. +, Miss. +, Mo. +, N.C. +, Ohio +, Okla. +, S.C. +, Tenn. +  and Tex. +
50–300 m +
gray-canescent +  and glabrous +
pistillate +, staminate +  and neuter +
winged +  and beaked +
dispersed +
Wooded areas, openings, fields, roadsides +
indeterminate +
each +  and sessile +
1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
narrowly ovoid;campanulate +
1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
sessile +  and petiolate +
cauline +  and basal +
bristle-tipped +
acuminate +, lobed +, toothed +  and triangular +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
entire +  and dentate +
usually lobed +  and dissected +
2-carpellate +
persistent +
1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br /> (1.4 cm14 mm <br />0.014 m <br />) +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br />) +
Flowering spring–summer (Apr–Jul). +
middle +  and outer +
weakly to strongly +
papillate +  and smooth +
bearing subulate enations +, hairy +  and bristly +
flat;convex +
glutinous +
tawny;white +
setiform +  and plumose +
exalbuminous +
subequal +
ascending +  and spreading +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
spiny-winged +, simple +  and branched +
villous +, glabrous +  and more or less tomentose +
1/2 +  and single +
appendaged +  and truncate +
dilated +  and swollen +
enlarged +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (?) +
Cirsium flaccidum +
Cirsium carolinianum +
species +
cylindric +
expanded +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
bristly-dentate to coarsely +
slender +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br />) +
ascending +  and appressed +
50 cm500 mm <br />0.5 m <br /> (180 cm1,800 mm <br />1.8 m <br />) +
tree +, vine +, shrub +  and subshrub +