Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Carduus nutans
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Nodding Thistle at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
(?)
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carduus nutans
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
INCLUDING
Synthesis of the North American Flora (Kartesz, 1999)
Carduus nutans ssp. macrolepis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-25-014:
Carduus nutans
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
COMMON NAME:
Nodding Thistle, Musk Thistle
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_canu4_001_lvd
)
John B. Nelson jbn_3551391202_2cf2fa231c
May SC
)
JK Marlow jkm140603_386
June Pickens County SC
SC Botanical Garden
Heads ~ 2" wide, usually nodding, solitary at the ends of very long stalks, per Wildflowers of Tennessee.
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_0343
June Hart County GA
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_177
June Anderson County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_180
June Anderson County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_181
June Anderson County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_215
June Hart County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_221
June Hart County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_222
June Hart County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_223
June Hart County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_229
June Hart County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_230
June Hart County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_233
June Hart County GA
The pappus bristles of Carduus are simple (vs. feathery in Cirsium), per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains.
)
JK Marlow jkm170603_235
June Hart County GA
)
Ron Lance rwl_carduus_nutans
June Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm0507h_22
July Pocahontas County WV
Roadside
The heads are not always nodding!
)
JK Marlow jkm060710_013
July Tucker County WV
Monongahela National Forest
A nodding head with broad, purplish reflexed involucral bracts, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains.
COMPARE
involucral bracts of Thistles
)
JK Marlow jkm060710_019
July Tucker County WV
Monongahela National Forest
Phyllaries 2-8mm wide, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm060710_025
July Tucker County WV
Monongahela National Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm060710_029
July Tucker County WV
Monongahela National Forest
)
JK Marlow s060710_b
July Tucker County WV
Monongahela National Forest
)
Mary Ellen (Mel) Harte, Bugwood.org bug_1358309
Month Unknown
)
Ken Chamberlain, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org bug_1560074
Month Unknown
)
Bruce Ackley, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org bug_5437937
Month Unknown
)
Bruce Ackley, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org bug_5437938
Month Unknown
Leaves very spiny, pinnately lobed, to 10" long and 4" wide", per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians.
)
Bruce Ackley, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org bug_5437956
Month Unknown
)
Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org bug_5452032
Month Unknown
)
Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org bug_5452046
Month Unknown
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Carduus nutans
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
(?)
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carduus nutans
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
INCLUDING
Synthesis of the North American Flora (Kartesz, 1999)
Carduus nutans ssp. macrolepis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-25-014:
Carduus nutans
FAMILY
Asteraceae__
258
Forb
Biennial
Non-native: Eurasia
Documented growing wild in GA NC SC
Uncommon (rare in Coastal Plain) (rare in NC)
Look for it in fields, roadsides, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Alabama Invasive Plant Council, 2012
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
- US Fish & Wildlife Service
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Leaf margins spiny
LEAVES:
Simple: Lobed, unlobed and/or dissected
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Disc: Purplish
Rays: Absent
Bisexual
Inferior ovary
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control p288
- A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests p110
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p430
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p281
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p330
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains p185
- Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses p086