Cirsium arizonicum var. arizonicum
Arizona thistle
Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native
Arizona thistle is a native perennial found in southern Sierra Nevada, White and Inyo Mountains in open forest and sagebrush scrub at elevations of 2,300 to 3,500 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces bright red to red-pink flowers with long corolla lobes 13 to 18 millimeters long in distinctive thistle heads. Growing with erect stems that bear sharp spiny leaves, it develops a robust clumping habit typical of thistles. Its leaves range from unlobed to deeply divided, with main leaf spines 2 to 15 millimeters long that provide a distinctive defensive structure. The flower's intricate design features a corolla tube 7 to 12 millimeters long with a throat 2 to 5 millimeters wide, creating an elegant botanical profile.
Habitat: Open forest, sagebrush scrub
Bloom period: Jul-Aug
Elevation: 2300-3500 m
Bioregions: s SNH, W&I
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.