Species

Cirsium vulgare

Etymology

Cirsium: a kind of thistle

Common Name(s)

Scotch thistle

Family

Asteraceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

CIRVUL

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs - Composites

Habitat

Terrestrial. Relatively open conditions are required for germination and establishment (West, 1996). Wasteland, roadsides, pastures, gardens, cultivated land, disturbed forest (Webb et al., 1988). Track edges, slips, barer ridges, under light gaps in the forest (West, 1996).

Features

Taprooted biennial 50-150cm tall; stems branched and covered in fine cobweb-like hairs; prickles pale 4-10mm long; purple flowers 28-33mm long (Webb et al., 1988). The flowers are clustered at the end of the stem and the numerous wind-dispersed seeds (West, 1996).

Flowering

November, December, January, February, March

Flower Colours

Red / Pink,Violet / Purple

Year Naturalised

1867

Origin

Eurasia, N. Africa

Reason For Introduction
Accidental

Life Cycle Comments
Biennial. A rosette of leaves is formed in the first year of growth and a flower-bearing stem is formed in the second year (West, 1996).

Dispersal
Wind (West, 1996).

This page last updated on 6 May 2011