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Carthamus leucocaulos

(Distaff Thistle)

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Distaff Thistle, Glaucous Star Thistle, Glaucous Star Thistle Carthamus Leucocaulos, White-Stem Distaff Thistle, White-Stemmed Distaff Thistle, Whitestem Distaff Thistle, Yellow Distaff Thistle

Description

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Family Compositae

The largest family of flowering plants , the Compositae (Asteraceae), comprising about 1,100 genera and more than 20,000 species and characterized by many small flowers arranged in a head looking like a single flower and subtended by an involucre of bracts. A head may consist of both ray flowers and disk flowers, as in the sunflower, of disk flowers only, as in the burdock, or of ray flowers only, as in the dandelion.

Genus Carthamus

Annuals or perennials, 30-180 cm. herbage glabrous to ± glandular and/or ± tomentose . Stems usually erect , branched distally or throughout, (leafy). Leaves basal and cauline or all cauline; basal and proximal cauline winged-petiolate, distal cauline sessile, sometimes clasping ; blade margins dentate to pinnately lobed , ± spiny , faces glabrous or ± glandlar and/or ± tomentose. Heads discoid , borne singly or in few-headed cymiform arrays. Involucres ovoid , constricted distally. Phyllaries many in 4-5 series. linear to ovate (at least outer ± leaflike), bases appressed , apical appendages more herbaceous, prominently veiny , spiny-dentate or -lobed, spine. tipped. Receptacles convex to conic, epaleate, bearing subulate scales . Florets 15-60+. corollas yellow to red or ± purple, tubes very slender, throats gradually or abruptly expanded, ± cylindric or short-campanulate, lobes linear; anther bases short-tailed, apical appendages oblong ; style branches: fused portions with slightly swollen basal nodes minutely hairy , distally minutely papillate , distinct portions very short. Cypselae oblong to obpyramidal , ± 4-angled, apices with smooth or dentate rims, faces usually ± roughened (outer) or smooth (inner), glabrous, attachment scar . lateral ; pappi 0 or (usually only inner cypselae) ± persistent , of many, usually unequal, narrow scales overlapping in several series. x = 10, 12.

Species 14: introduced ; United States; Mediterranean region.[1]

Physical Description

Species Carthamus leucocaulos

Plants 30-100 cm, herbage glabrescent . Stems rigidly erect , shiny white, often much-branched distally. Leaves basal and cauline; basal often absent at anthesis , petioles winged . blades pinnately divided into 6-8 pairs of narrow lobes ; cauline spreading or recurved, lanceolate to ovate , rigid , clasping , 3-7-veined from base , margins pinnately divided into 2-3 pairs of short, spine-tipped lobes, apices spine-tipped. Involucres ovoid , 10-13 mm, usually ± glabrous . Outer phyllaries ascending or ± spreading , very shiny, 40-50 mm, 2.5-3.5 times as long as inner, terminal appendages spreading to ascending, spiny-lobed, prominently spine-tipped. Corollas pink or pale purple, 13-17 mm, throats abruptly expanded; anthers white or pink with purple stripes ; pollen white. Cypselae brown, 3-5 mm, outer roughened; pappus scales 5-7 mm. 2n = 20 (Greece). [source]

Between 1969 and 1990 an infestation of this noxious weed was documented in Sonoma County. Efforts to eradicate it were apparently successful. [source]

Habit: Forb/herb

Flowers: Bloom Period: May, June, July, August. • Flower Color: near white, white

Habitat

Disturbed sites; 0-200 m [2].

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Annual

Growth

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: Not Applicable (map)

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Comment: Data Providers: New Zealand Plant Name Database, Govaerts World Compositae Checklist A-G, Euro+Med, Western Australia Census, Electronic Flora of South Australia. GCC LSID: urn :lsid:compositae.org:names:017EC809-998D-4CE3-B571-6F540951EE48

Last scrutiny: 13-Nov-09

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Carthamus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 10 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

C. baeticus baeticus (Smooth Distaff Thistle) · C. lanatus (Distaff Thistle) · C. lanatus baeticus (Distaff Thistle) · C. lanatus lanatus (Woolly Distaff Thistle) · C. leucocaulos (Distaff Thistle) · C. oxyacantha (Jeweled Distaff Thistle) · C. oxyacanthus (Wild Safflower) · C. tinctorius (American Saffron) · C. tinctorius 'Grenade Mix' (American Saffron) · C. tinctorius 'Magestic Orange' (American Saffron)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 28, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. David J. Keil "Carthamus". in Flora of North America Vol. 19, 20 and 21 Page 52, 67, 83, 178. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Carthamus leucocaulos". in Flora of North America Vol. 19, 20 and 21 Page 179, 180. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012