Cirsium remotifolium
Few leaved thistle
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Family: Asteraceae · Type: Herb · Native
Cirsium remotifolium (Few leaved thistle) is a native California herb in the Asteraceae family.
Few leaved thistle is a California native perennial herb found in scattered bioregions of California in open habitats at elevations ranging from moderate to high terrain. Flowering from late spring to early fall, this thistle produces cream or purple flowers in heads 1.5 to 4.5 centimeters wide, with delicate cream or purple corollas. Growing with 3 to 15 decimeter stems that are often much-branched and slightly cobwebby, the plant emerges from a taproot or runner roots. Its leaves are characterized by coarsely dentate or lobed blades, with proximal leaves having spiny petioles and gradually reduced cauline leaves that become increasingly bract-like toward the stem tips. The fruit is relatively small, measuring 4.5 to 5.5 millimeters long, with a pappus extending 13 to 23 millimeters.
How to tell it apart
vs Carduus: Cirsium has fluffy, feathery seed tufts; Carduus has rough bristles or no pappus and continuous spiny wings down the stem.; vs Silybum: Cirsium leaves are plain green; Silybum has bright white marbling along the leaf veins.; vs Sonchus: Cirsium has thistle-type flowers with spine-tipped bracts; Sonchus has dandelion-like flowers and milky sap.; vs Cynara: Cirsium heads are 1-6 cm across; Cynara heads are massive (4-15 cm, tennis ball sized) with fleshy bases.; vs Centaurea: Cirsium has linear bracts without appendages; Centaurea bracts have fringed or comb-like tips.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cirsium remotifolium native to California?
Yes. Cirsium remotifolium is native to California (recorded as native).
What plant family does Cirsium remotifolium belong to?
Cirsium remotifolium is in the Asteraceae family, genus Cirsium.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
- Cirsium remotifolium var. odontolepis — Pacific fringed thistle
- Cirsium remotifolium var. remotifolium — Remote-leaved thistle
- Cirsium remotifolium var. rivulare — Klamath thistle
- Cirsium rhothophilum — Surf thistle
- Cirsium scariosum — Meadow thistle
- Cirsium scariosum var. americanum — Dinnerplate thistle
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.