Pasture thistle
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated February 2018.
Scientific name: Cirsium pumilum Spreng.; old C. odoratum (Muhl. ex W. Bartram) Petr.
Common name(s): pasture thistle, fragrant thistle
Links: USDA PLANTS Profile, Go Botany
Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)
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- pasture thistle, late July
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- flower detail
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- immature flower and leaf detail
Description:
-perennial
-sweet smelling forb
-leaves are basal, alternate and deeply lobed
-spines and fine bristles
-head 1 1/2″-2″ wide
-purple disk flowers
– can reach up to 1′-3′ tall
-hollow roots
-may be confused with C. muticum; see left sidebar of Go Botany webpage
Habitat:
-roadsides
-disturbed areas
-fields and meadows
Sources:
Go Botany. “Cirsium Pumilum (Nutt.) Spreng.” Cirsium Pumilum (Pasture Thistle): Go Botany, 2020, gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/cirsium/pumilum/.
Wisconsin State University. “Cirsium Pumilum Var. Hillii.” Online Virtual Flora of Wisconsin , Wisconisn State Herbarium, wisflora.herbarium.wisc.edu/taxa/index.php?taxon=12920.