Carduus pycnocephalus | Italian thistle

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36.056316, -112.08046
36° 3′ 22.77″ N, 112° 4′ 49.66″ W
36 3 22.77, 112 4 49.66

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Flower Size

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About 1/4 inch

About 1/2 inch

About 3/4 inches

About an 1 inch

Around 1.5 inches

Around 2 inches

Around 3 inches

Over 4 inches

If you don't carry a ruler you can use a quarter which is an inch in diameter. Although flowers may be easy to measure, the size often varies. Botanical descriptions often do not include the flower size so some of our size information may be wrong.

When a plant has clusters of small flowers you should measure the size of a flower even though it may be very small. Many plants have flowers that are not obvious and in that case we put them in the "Very Small" category.

Leaf Attachment

Alternate

Opposite

Basal

Whorled

Habitat	Description
Alpine	Growing above timberline
Aquatic	Growing in or floating in water
Brush	Scab, chaparral, thicket, clearcut, scrub and similar terms
Cliff	On a cliff, rock wall or similar surface
Desert	Described as a desert, wash, arid or very dry area
Disturbed	Along a road, railroad, burned area, vacant lot and similar places
Epiphyte	Growing on a plant or on decaying plant material
Forest	In a grove, stand or woods or otherwise associated with trees
Grassland	A pasture, prairie, rangeland or steppe
Meadow	An area described as a meadow
Riparian	Near a stream, river, lake, seep or other wet area
Rocky	An outcrop, scree, talus area or other rocky area
Salt Marsh	An alkali or tidal area
Sand	An area described as sandy or a sand dune
Wetland	Marsh, swamp, bog, fen or wetland
Ignore	No habitat specified

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Italian thistle

Italian thistle Aster Family
Carduus pycnocephalus Asteraceae
--show more--

English common name
  •Italian thistle
Spanish common names
  •cardo borriquero
  •cardo negro
accepted scientific name
  •Carduus pycnocephalus L.
rules for finding collection records
  •Carduus pycnocephalus (61)
family name
  • Asteraceae

Image Author: ©2004 Anthony Valois and the National Park Service
Image License: public domain
Image Source

Category: Wildflowers
Flowers: Many petals
Petal colors:

Flower size is 0.5 to 1.0 inches
Leaf: Alternate, Simple
Plant Observed 3rd week of August thru end of December

How Likely at this Location (18%)

Name Match (100%)

Plant Showiness (54%)

Links to Plant Descriptions
Flora of North America
Instituto Darwinion (8)
Fundación R.A. Philippi
Wikipedia Español
Wikipedia English
sib.gob.ar
Jepson
UW Herbarium (4)
Backyard Nature (1)

Links to Plant Photos
Cal Photos (122)
iNaturalist (24)
Tony Valois NPS (6)
Wikimedia Commons (6)
Peter Bryant (8)
Sharnoff Photography (2)
Paul Slichter (1)
SEINet (1)
Adam Schneider (1)

Where the plant has been found

Credits

Elevation (m) vs. Time of Observation (Flowering)

Credits