Cirsium horridulum

Cirsium horridulum, called bristly thistle, horrid thistle, yellow thistle or bull thistle, is a North American species of plants in the thistle tribe within the sunflower family. It is an annual or biennial.[2] The species is native to the eastern and southern United States from New England to Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma as well as to Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Bahamas.[3][4][5][6][7]

Cirsium horridulum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Cirsium
Species:
C. horridulum
Binomial name
Cirsium horridulum
Michx.
Synonyms[1]

Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859) described var. megacanthum as "one of the most terribly armed plants in the genus."[8][9]

Cirsium horridulum is a biennial herb up to 250 centimetres (100 in) tall, with a large taproot and fleshy side roots that sometimes sprout new shoots. Leaves are up to 40 centimetres (16 in) long with thick, sharp spines along the edges. There are usually several flower heads, also with sharp spines, Luma apiculata each head with disc florets but no ray florets. Flower color varies from one plant to the next: white, yellow, pink, red or purple.[10]

Varieties[1][10]

Conservation status in the United States

It is endangered in Connecticut,[11] New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. It is listed as threatened in Rhode Island.[12]

As a noxious weed

The Cirsium genus is listed as a noxious weed in Arkansas and Iowa.[13]

Native American ethnobotany

The Houma people make an infusion of the leaves and root of the plant in whiskey, and use it as both an astringent, and take it to clear phlegm from lungs and throat. They also eat the tender, white hearts of the plant raw.[14] The Seminole use the plant to make blowgun darts.[15]

Ecology

It is a larval host to the little metalmark and the painted lady.[16] Its flowers are popular with butterflies and bumble bees.[17]

References
  1. The Plant List, Cirsium horridulum Michx.
  2. "Plants Profile for Cirsium horridulum (yellow thistle)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  3. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  4. Davidse, G., M. Sousa-Peña, S. Knapp & F. Chiang Cabrera. 2015. Asteraceae. 5(2): ined. In G. Davidse, M. Sousa Sánchez, S. Knapp & F. Chiang Cabrera (eds.) Flora Mesoamericana Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F..
  5. Carnevali, G., J. L. Tapia-Muñoz, R. Duno de Stefano & I. M. Ramírez Morillo. 2010. Flora Ilustrada de la Peninsula Yucatán: Listado Florístico 1–326
  6. Nelson, C. H. 2008. Cat. Pl. Vasc. Honduras 1–1576. Secretaria de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente, Tegucigalpa
  7. Nash, D. L. 1976. Tribe IX, Cynareae. En: Nash, D.L. & Williams, L.O. (eds), Flora of Guatemala - Part XII. Fieldiana, Bot. 24(12): 423–428, 590
  8. Nuttall quoted in Flora of North America, Bigspine thistle, Cirsium horridulum Michaux var. megacanthum (Nuttall) D. J. Keil
  9. Nuttall, Thomas 1841. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, new series 7: 421 as Cirsium megacanthum
  10. Flora of North America, Bristly or horrid or yellow or bull thistle, Cirsium horridulum Michaux, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 90. 1803.
  11. "Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015". State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 12 January 2018. (Note: This list is newer than the one used by plants.usda.gov and is more up-to-date.)
  12. "Plants Profile for Cirsium horridulum (yellow thistle)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  13. "Plants Profile for Cirsium horridulum (yellow thistle)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  14. Speck, Frank G., 1941, A List of Plant Curatives Obtained From the Houma Indians of Louisiana, Primitive Man 14:49-75, page 57
  15. Sturtevant, William, 1954, The Mikasuki Seminole: Medical Beliefs and Practices, Yale University, PhD Thesis, page 507
  16. The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.
  17. The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.
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