Cirsium parryi

Cirsium parryi
herbarium specimen
Conservation status
Apparently Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Tribe:	Cynareae
Genus:	Cirsium
Species:	C. parryi
Binomial name
Cirsium parryi (A.Gray) Petr.

Cirsium parryi is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Parry's thistle. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it occurs in Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.^[1]

This thistle is a biennial herb with a hairy stem growing up to two meters tall or more in maximum height. The leaves are oblong or lance-shaped and measure 10 to 30 centimeters long. They are often toothed or divided partly into lobes. The lower ones are usually withered by flowering. The inflorescence may contain many flower heads at the end of the stem and near the upper leaves. Each is up to 2.5 centimeters wide with spiny bracts at the base. The spiny phyllaries along the sides of the flower head are green with brownish tips. In the head are many flowers which are generally yellowish, or sometimes purplish or white. The fruit is an achene which may be over 2 centimeters in length including its pappus.^[2]

This plant grows in moist areas in coniferous forests and meadows and near streams.^[2]

This species may form hybrids with C. grahamii in Arizona and C. canescens in Colorado.^[2]

References

1. ^ Cirsium parryi. The Nature Conservancy.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Cirsium parryi. Flora of North America.

External links

• USDA Plants Profile