Cirsium altissimum

Classification	Dicots
Family	Asteraceae
Family (Traditional)	Asteraceae
Genus	Cirsium
Species:	Cirsium altissimum (L.) Spreng.
Common Name	Roadside Thistle; Tall Thistle
Growth Habit	forb
Plant Notes	**
Characteristics	Armaments: Yes; Milky Sap: No; Photosynthetic: Yes; Stipules: No; Woody Herbaceous: Herbaceous; Natural Area Presence: CCNMP; Natural Area Presence: FG; Natural Area Presence: GILES; Natural Area Presence: GRSM; Natural Area Presence: LGS; Natural Area Presence: ObedWSR; Natural Area Presence: WOLF; Duration: Biennial; General Ecology: Terrestrial; Growth Habit: forb; Moisture Requirements: Dry-mesic; Moisture Requirements: Mesic; Moisture Requirements: Mesic-Hydric; Moisture Requirements: Hydric; Moisture Requirements: Wetland; Region of Origin: North America; Reproductive Phenology: June; Reproductive Phenology: July; Reproductive Phenology: August; Reproductive Phenology: September; Reproductive Phenology: October; Leaf Arrangement: alternate; Leaf Arrangement: basal; Leaf Complexity: simple; Leaf Dissection: 0; Leaf Dissection: 0.5; Leaf Fragrance: No; Leaf Persistance: Deciduous; Leaf Petiole Type: petiolate; Leaf Petiole Type: sessile; Leaf Type: broadleaf; Leaf Type: thistle-like; Leaf Venation: pinnate; Leaflet Margins: entire; Leaflet Margins: lobed; Leaflet Number: 0; Anther Type: Basifixed; Base Flower Color: Pink; Base Flower Color: Purple; Base Flower Color: White; Carpel Number/Pistil: 1; Fruit Complexity: Simple; Fruit Dehiscence: No; Fruit Type: Cypsela; Fruit Wet/Dry: Dry; Hypanthium Present: No; Inflorescence Position: terminal; Inflorescence Types: corymb/cyme/umbel; Inflorescence Types: head; Ovary Position: Inferior; Overall Flower Symmetry: Actinomorphic; Ovules per Carpel: 1; Perianth Present: Yes; Petal Fusion: Yes; Petal Number: 5; Pistil Complexity: Simple; Pistil Number: 1; Placentation Type: Basal; Sepal Fusion: N/A; Sepal Number: N/A; Sexuality: monoclinous; Sporangium Arrangement: N/A; Stamen Number: 5; Tepal Number: N/A
C value	6
Status	Native; TN[SNR] KY[S5] (State Rank); G5 (Global Rank)
Specimen(s)	View and Download Specimen Details »

** Not applicable or data not available.

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Species Distribution Map

This species has been reported in the counties highlighted in the interactive distribution map below. Click on a county to display the its name. Click the question mark icon () to view additional information about the ecoregions shown. In the map legend, there are links to toggle the visibility of the ecoregions and/or their labels. In addition, clicking on an ecoregion name will highlight that region on the map.

State Boundaries
Counties
Counties - Species Present

Ecoregions

Southeastern Plains
- Blackland Prarie
Blue Ridge Mountains
Ridge and Valley
Cumberland Plateau
Cumberland Mountains
Allegheny Plateau

Interior Plateau
- Bluegrass Region
- Nashville Basin
- Pennyroyal Karst Plain
- Western Highland Rim
- Eastern Highland Rim

Interior River Valleys and Hills
- Shawnee / Caseyville Hills
Mississippi Alluvial Plain
Mississippi Valley Loess Plains
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Synonyms

Synonym	Full Citation
Carduus altissimus	Carduus altissimus Gilib.
Cirsium altissimum var. biltmoreanum	Cirsium altissimum var. biltmoreanum Petr.
Cirsium iowense	Cirsium iowense
Cnicus altissimus	Cnicus altissimus (L.) Willd.
Cnicus iowensis	Cnicus iowensis

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort.

Counties included on distribution map: Allen (KY), Breckinridge (KY), Bullitt (KY), Butler (KY), Caldwell (KY), Calloway (KY), Clinton (KY), Edmonson (KY), Fleming (KY), Hart (KY), Jefferson (KY), Lyon (KY), McCracken (KY), Marshall (KY), Todd (KY), Trigg (KY), Warren (KY), Benton (TN), Carroll (TN), Cocke (TN), Davidson (TN), Decatur (TN), DeKalb (TN), Fentress (TN), Franklin (TN), Giles (TN), Grainger (TN), Haywood (TN), Hickman (TN), Houston (TN), Humphreys (TN), Jackson (TN), Lewis (TN), Marion (TN), Monroe (TN), Montgomery (TN), Polk (TN), Stewart (TN), Sullivan (TN), Sumner (TN), Unicoi (TN), Warren (TN)

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: APSC, EKY, ETSU, HTTU, MEM, TENN, UCHT, UOS, UTM, VDB

Range of years during which specimens were collected: 1897 - 2017

Accession No. (click for full details)	County	State	Coll. Date	Collector & Collection No.	Herbarium & Herbarium Name Used
31234100247541	Clinton	Kentucky	04 Sep 1999	Mark A. Gorton 99-1319	EKY Cirsium altissimum
31234100247566	Fleming	Kentucky	25 Aug 2000	Kim Feeman 1	EKY Cirsium altissimum
31234100247517	Butler	Kentucky	11 Jul 1980	Richard H. Hannan 4505	EKY Cirsium altissimum
31234100247558	Clinton	Kentucky	04 Sep 1999	Mark A. Gorton 99-1320	EKY Cirsium altissimum
31234100247608	Carroll	Tennessee	02 Oct 1972	Betty Toler Allman 895	EKY Cirsium altissimum
31234100247574	Marshall	Kentucky	24 Aug 1974	Raymond Athey 2903	EKY Cirsium altissimum
31234100247525	Caldwell	Kentucky	01 Oct 1980	Richard H. Hannan 5799	EKY Cirsium altissimum
31234100247509	Breckinridge	Kentucky	02 Sep 2003	Ronald L. Jones 9500	EKY Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237470	Hickman	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237473	Jackson	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237477	Polk	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237464	Decatur	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237471	Hickman	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237476	Monroe	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237478	Sullivan	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237463	Decatur	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237462	Carroll	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237467	Giles	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237475	Marion	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237465	Franklin	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237472	Jackson	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237479	Sumner	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237466	Giles	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237469	Haywood	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237468	Grainger	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237461	Carroll	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237474	Marion	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
TENN-V-0237480	Warren	Tennessee			TENN Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027118	Benton	Tennessee			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0122081	Edmonson	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027104	Lyon	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0101750	Humphreys	Tennessee			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027120	Houston	Tennessee			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0079409	Breckinridge	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027109	Stewart	Tennessee			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0121912	Edmonson	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027121	Montgomery	Tennessee			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027103	Lyon	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0122082	Edmonson	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027119	Stewart	Tennessee			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0080658	Allen	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0122087	Warren	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0069027	Edmonson	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0122084	Hart	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027111	Trigg	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027113	Trigg	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0121911	Edmonson	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0079410	Breckinridge	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027108	Stewart	Tennessee			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027117	Hickman	Tennessee			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027112	Trigg	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0121910	Jefferson	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027122	Montgomery	Tennessee			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0121913	Bullitt	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027102	Lyon	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027123	Todd	Kentucky	13 Sep 1972	Lloyd Settle	APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027115	Decatur	Tennessee			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0121914	Jefferson	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027106	Trigg	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0079407	Breckinridge	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0122083	Butler	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0079408	Breckinridge	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027116	Giles	Tennessee			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0101751	Humphreys	Tennessee			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027105	Trigg	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0086272	Edmonson	Kentucky			APSC Cirsium altissimum
APSC0027107	Stewart	Tennessee			APSC Cirsium altissimum
HTTU008910	DeKalb	Tennessee			HTTU Cirsium altissimum
HTTU023985	DeKalb	Tennessee			HTTU Cirsium altissimum
HTTU023984	DeKalb	Tennessee			HTTU Cirsium altissimum
HTTU024452	DeKalb	Tennessee			HTTU Cirsium altissimum
HTTU023986	DeKalb	Tennessee			HTTU Cirsium altissimum
HTTU002899	McCracken	Kentucky			HTTU Cirsium altissimum
HTTU002898	Fentress	Tennessee			HTTU Cirsium altissimum
HTTU008911	Fentress	Tennessee			HTTU Cirsium altissimum
HTTU002896	Hickman	Tennessee			HTTU Cirsium altissimum
N/A	Cocke	Tennessee	10 Sep 1897	Thos H. Kearney 796	UCHT Cirsium altissimum
UCHT029720	Marion	Tennessee			UCHT Cirsium altissimum
N/A	Cocke	Tennessee	01 Sep 1897	Thos H. Kearney 795	UCHT Cirsium altissimum
UOS00740	Franklin	Tennessee	11 Sep 1985	R.K. Clements	UOS Cirsium altissimum
UOS00739	Franklin	Tennessee	12 Sep 2000	Mary P. Priestley	UOS Cirsium altissimum
UOS00738	Franklin	Tennessee	25 Sep 2009	Mary P. Priestley	UOS Cirsium altissimum
UTM01931	Davidson	Tennessee			UTM Cirsium altissimum
ETSU009399	Unicoi	Tennessee	20 Aug 2017	Frosty Levy	ETSU Cirsium altissimum
ETSU011869	Unicoi	Tennessee			ETSU Cirsium altissimum
ETSU011868	Unicoi	Tennessee		15424	ETSU Cirsium altissimum
MEM007195	Caldwell	Kentucky	02 Sep 1968	Raymond Athey 422	MEM Cirsium altissimum
MEM007196	McCracken	Kentucky	27 Aug 1968	Raymond Athey 407	MEM Cirsium altissimum
MEM014234	Lewis	Tennessee	01 Oct 1978	G.B. Wilson, Dan Morris 47	MEM Cirsium altissimum
MEM009930	Calloway	Kentucky	24 Aug 1974	Raymond Athey 2903	MEM Cirsium altissimum
BRIT74799	Sumner	Tennessee	17 Sep 1978	R. Kral 62750	VDB Cirsium altissimum
BRIT74800	Sumner	Tennessee	17 Sep 1978	R. Kral 62750	VDB Cirsium altissimum
BRIT94935	Sumner	Tennessee	17 Sep 1978	R. Kral 62750	VDB Cirsium altissimum
31234100247582	Todd	Kentucky	11 Sep 1992	Landon E. McKinney 5225	EKY Cirsium altissimum
31234100247533	Clinton	Kentucky	04 Sep 1999	Mark A. Gorton 99-1318	EKY Cirsium altissimum

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Cirsium altissimum

Related Links

Species Distribution Map

Ecoregions

Synonyms

Specimens and Distribution

Plant Photos