Cirsium texanum is a species of plant in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae found in North America. Common names include Texas thistle, Texas purple thistle or southern thistle.[2] The species is native to northern Mexico (Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas) and the southern Great Plains of the south-central United States (primarily Texas, Oklahoma, and eastern New Mexico with additional populations in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri).[3][4] It grows in prairies and roadsides.[5]

Cirsium texanum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Cirsium
Species:
C. texanum
Binomial name
Cirsium texanum
Synonyms[1]
  • Carduus austrinus Small
  • Carduus filipendulus (A.Gray) Rydb.
  • Carduus helleri Small
  • Cirsium austrinum (Small) E.D.Schulz
  • Cirsium helleri (Small) Cory

Cirsium texanum is a biennial or perennial herb up to 80 cm (32 inches) tall. Leaves have small, narrow spines along the edges. Flower heads are sometimes produced one at a time, sometimes in small groups, each head with light purple disc florets but no ray florets.[2]

The flowers of Cirsium texanum provide nectar for butterflies and the foliage is used as a source of food for the larvae of the painted lady butterfly. Goldfinches also use the seeds as a food source.[5]

References

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  1. ^ The Plant List, Cirsium texanum Buckley
  2. ^ a b "Cirsium texanum in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  3. ^ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  4. ^ CONABIO. 2009. Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. 1. In Capital Nat. México. CONABIO, México D.F.
  5. ^ a b "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
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