Cirsium remotifolium var. remotifolium

Remote-leaved thistle

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Remote-leaved thistle is a California native perennial found in northern Coast Ranges and Klamath Ranges in grassy areas, woodland openings, and forests at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces cream-colored flowers with delicate linear to narrowly oblong phyllaries that are subtly fringed. Growing with erect stems characteristic of thistles, it develops multiple flower heads with graduated phyllary structures. Its leaves are positioned distantly along the stem, reflecting its distinctive "remote-leaved" nature with variable leaf arrangements. The flower's corolla reaches 18 to 25 millimeters long, with a cream-colored tube 6 to 12 millimeters in length and lobes measuring 4.5 to 6.5 millimeters.

Habitat: Grassy areas, openings in woodland, forests

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: n NCo, KR

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