''Carduus tenuiflorus'', known variously as slender-flower thistle,
[ sheep thistle,][ shore thistle,][ slender thistle,][ winged plumeless thistle, winged slender thistle][ and winged thistle,][ is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Europe and North Africa, and an introduced species elsewhere.
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Description
''Carduus tenuiflorus'' may exceed in height. Its tall stem is ridged with wings and has long spines which may be several centimeters in length. The dull olive-green leaves are lobed and wrinkled and may fold and crease themselves.
The inflorescences may hold up to 20 flower heads
A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...
which are somewhat rounded, covered in wide, spiny phyllaries, and packed with pale pink to bright purple long-tubed disc florets. This is a tenacious weed of roadsides, fields, and disturbed areas.
Distribution
''Carduus tenuiflorus'' is native to western North Africa in: northern Algeria; Morocco; and Tunisia, and much of Europe in: Belgium; France, including Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
; Ireland; Italy, including Sardinia and Sicily; the Netherlands; Portugal, Spain, including the Baleares (Balearic Islands); and the United Kingdom.[
]
Introduced species
It has become naturalised
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...
in Macaronesia, South Africa, India, Australasia, Southern South America
The Southern Cone ( es, Cono Sur, pt, Cone Sul) is a geographical and cultural subregion composed of the southernmost areas of South America, mostly south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Traditionally, it covers Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, bou ...
, regions of the United States, and elsewhere.[ It is an ]invasive species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
in California.Cal-IPC (California Invasisive Plant Council): ''Carduus tenuiflorus''
. accessed 4.8.2013
References
External links
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Jepson Manual TreatmentCarduus tenuiflorus — CalPhoto gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q788370
tenuiflorus
Flora of Europe
Flora of North Africa
Plants described in 1793
Flora of Algeria
Flora of Belgium
Flora of Corsica
Flora of Ireland
Flora of Italy
Flora of Sardinia
Flora of Sicily
Flora of Morocco
Flora of the Netherlands
Flora of Portugal
Flora of Spain
Flora of the Balearic Islands
Flora of Tunisia
Flora of the United Kingdom