Cirsium canescens

Prairie thistle

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Prairie thistle is a naturalized perennial herb found in the Modoc Plateau in grasslands, arid scrublands, and disturbed areas at elevations of 1,500 to 1,600 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces dull white to lavender-tinged flowers in heads 3 to 4 centimeters wide, arranged in flat-topped clusters. Growing with a single erect stem 20 to 100 centimeters tall, densely covered in fine gray hairs and with few ascending branches. Its leaves are gray-tomentose, with lower leaves up to 25 centimeters long, coarsely toothed or deeply lobed, and upper leaves gradually reduced and becoming bract-like with spiny wings. The involucre has graduated phyllary tips with small 2 to 4 millimeter spines, giving the plant its characteristic thistle-like appearance.

Habitat: Grassland, arid scrubland, disturbed areas

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: 1500-1600 m

Bioregions: MP

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.