Extensions from the leaf base down the stem, called wings, can be lacking (Cirsium arvense), conspicuous (Cirsium vulgare), or inconspicuous. (wikipedia.org)
Cirsium vulgare (bull thistle, common thistle, or spear thistle) is listed as a noxious weed in nine US states. (wikipedia.org)
Cirsium vulgare, for instance, ranked in the top 10 for nectar production in a UK plants survey conducted by the AgriLand project which is supported by the UK Insect Pollinators Initiative. (wikipedia.org)
Cirsium vulgare was also a top producer of nectar sugar in another study in Britain, ranked third with a production per floral unit of (2323 ± 418μg). (wikipedia.org)
Certain species of Cirsium, like Cirsium monspessulanum, Cirsium pyrenaicum and Cirsium vulgare, have been traditionally used as food in rural areas of southern Europe. (wikipedia.org)
One of the worst invasive pests here is Cirsium vulgare or Bull Thistle. (nargs.org)
Asteraceae1
Cirsium is a genus of perennial and biennial flowering plants in the Asteraceae, one of several genera known commonly as thistles. (wikipedia.org)
Arvense5
They can spread by seed, and also by rhizomes below the surface (Cirsium arvense). (wikipedia.org)
tuberous plants, of different genera, that do not qualify as geophytes. (inaturalist.org)
Species4
Cirsium thistles are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species-see list of Lepidoptera that feed on Cirsium. (wikipedia.org)
There are so many species from such a lot of genera that I thought I'd start a board that was more general - Panayoti and others have been rapping on spiny plants on the Cactus discussions and I love pricklies (although Monica doesn't so I have to keep them out of touch with one another) but above all I think thistles of all sorts are the great gems. (nargs.org)
Only three genera in Cynareae are represented by native species in the New World, and of these Cirsium is by far the most widely distributed and diverse. (swbiodiversity.org)
Native species of Cirsium range from sea level to alpine and from boreal regions of Canada to the tropics of Central America. (swbiodiversity.org)