Cirsium
| Cirsium {{{latin_name}}}
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| Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture |
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Cirsium (old Greek name, referring to the use of the plant in an ailment). Compositae. Thistle. Prickly-leaved plants (largely biennial) of bold habit and showy purple, pinkish, white or even yellowish heads, sometimes planted in wild gardens. The thistles are botanically confused. By some authors, Cirsium is combined with Carduus, but others keep it distinct because of the plumose or feathery pappus (which is most constant on the inner florets); and this disposition is here accepted. The cirsiums are herbs or subshrubs, more or less spiny: lvs. alternate, sessile, often pinnatifid: fl.-heads large, mostly terminal; involucre ovoid or spherical, with many rows of imbricated often spiny-tipped scales, many-fld.; florets all tubular and alike (seldom more or less dioecious). —More than 120 species of annuals, biennials or perennials, widely spread in the northern hemisphere. Other generic names partaking in the confused usage are Carbenia, now a synonym of Cnicus; Chamaepeuce, now a section of Cirsium; and Cnicus (which see), a genus of one species, distinguished by sterile marginal florets, pappus of ten long bristles and equal numbers of shorter ones and of hornyteeth, and achene attached obliquely near the base rather than squarely on the base. A number of the thistles are field and pasture weeds. The most penicious of these weeds is the Canada thistle, C. arvense, Scop. (Carduus arvensis, Robs.), Fig. 795. The common bull thistle or pasture thistle (Fig. 966) is a stately biennial, and very decorative. It is C. lanceolatum, Hill (Carduus lanceolatus, Linn.). Both these species are introduced from Eu., as well as two or three others of lesser distribution in this country. There are a number of showy native species, one of which, C. muticum, Michx., (Carduus muticus, Pers.) is shown in Fig. 967. This purple-fld. species occurs in low grounds from Newfoundland to W. Va. A few species of Cirsium (as the genus is here defined) may be expected to occur in cult. C. oleraceum. Scop., (Carduus oleraceus, Vill.), of Eu., has very decorative foliage, and thrives in the moister parts of a garden; the fls. are not very handsome, whitish or yellowish; 3 ft. The Chamaepeuces are sometimes grown for the large prickly spreading rosettes of lvs. that are produced the first year; the bloom appearing the second year. They combine well with plantings made for subtropical effect: C. Casabonae, DC. (Chamaepeuce Casabonae, DC. Carduus Casabonae, Linn.), has lvs. deep green veined white, spiny, the fl.-heads pale purple; C. Diacantha, DC. (Chamaepeuce Diacantha, DC. Carduus Diacantha, Labill.), has thick lvs. shining green with silvery lines, white beneath, linear-lanceoate, the principal nerve or rib terminated by a single spine and the lateral nerves usually 2-spined, and dense clusters of purple heads; C. afrum, DC. (Chamaepeuce afra, DC. Carduus afer, Jacq.), has dark green blotched white linear-lanceolate lvs. tomentose beneath, and large bright purple heads; C. Sprengeri, Hort., a garden hybrid, perennial, with dark green white-veined spiny lvs. and white fragrant heads; C. tauricum, Hort., is probably C. Diacantha. CH
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References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
