SimplePlant

Asteraceae

Thorn skeletonweed

Pleiacanthus spinosus (Nutt.) Rydb.

Family
Asteraceae
Genus
Pleiacanthus

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Thorn skeletonweed: Pleiacanthus spinosus syn Stephanomeria spinosa syn Lygodesmia spinosa in Butte Co, Idaho, USA
Photo: Matt Lavin, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Common names

By language (3)
English
Thorn skeletonweed
nv
Jádí nátʼoh, Diniʼeechʼil
Spanish
Pleiacanthus

Synonyms

  • Lygodesmia spinosa Nutt.
  • Lygodesmia spinosa var. spinosa
  • Stephanomeria spinosa (Nutt.) Tomb

Characteristics

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

Photos

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.