Carduus tenuiflorus

Annuals, 20–200 cm. Stems simple or openly branched, loosely tomentose with fine single-celled hairs and villous with curled, septate hairs; teeth of wings to 25 mm, wing spines to 15 mm. Leaves: basal tapered to winged petioles, blades 10–25 cm, margins pinnately 6–10-lobed, abaxial faces tomentose, adaxial faces loosely tomentose and villous or ± glabrate; cauline sessile, shorter, less divided. Heads clustered in ± tight arrays of 5–20+ at ends of stems, usually sessile, 15–22 mm × 7–12 mm. Involucres cylindric to ellipsoid (appearing campanulate when pressed), 15–20 × 7–12 mm. Phyllaries linear-lanceolate, bases appressed, 2–2.5 mm wide, ± glabrate, and ascending, appendages 0.5–1.5 mm wide, narrowly scarious-margined, distally glabrous or minutely ciliolate, spine tips 1–2 mm, inner phyllaries with erect, straight, unarmed tips. Corollas pinkish, 10–14 mm; lobes 1.5–2.5 times longer than throat. Cypselae brown, 4–5 mm, finely 10–13-nerved; pappus bristles 10–15 mm. 2n = 54.

Carduus tenuiflorus Curtis:
United States (North America)
South Africa (Africa & Madagascar)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

United States

Origin: Exotic

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

Carduus pycnocephalus Linnaeus var. tenuiflorus (Curtis) Fiori

In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Foodplant / parasite
Golovinomyces cichoracearum parasitises live Carduus tenuiflorus

Foodplant / spot causer
amphigenous colony of Ramularia hyphomycetous anamorph of Ramularia cynarae causes spots on live leaf of Carduus tenuiflorus

Foodplant / feeds on
larva of Terellia serratulae feeds on Carduus tenuiflorus

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 7
Specimens with Barcodes: 7
Species With Barcodes: 1

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable

Rounded Global Status Rank: GNR - Not Yet Ranked