SimplePlant

Asteraceae

Meadow thistle

Cirsium scariosum Nutt.

Family
Asteraceae
Genus
Cirsium

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Meadow thistle: This mountain meadow inhabiting species is generally distinctive in its long copious stem and leaf hairs and inflorescences with congested white to pinkish or l
Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Common names

By language (1)
English
Meadow thistle

Synonyms

  • Carduus americanus (A.Gray) Greene
  • Carduus americanus var. americanus
  • Carduus scariosus (Nutt.) A.Heller
  • Cirsium butleri Rydb.
  • Cirsium drummondii var. vexans Piper
  • Cirsium hookerianum var. scariosum (Nutt.) B.Boivin
  • Cirsium lacerum Rydb.
  • Cirsium magnificum (A.Nelson) Rydb.
  • Cirsium minganense f. album Vict. & J.Rousseau
  • Cnicus scariosus A.Gray

Characteristics

Growth habit
Forb/herb
Lifespan
Biennial, Perennial
In the US and Canada
Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native

Photos

More in Cirsium

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.