Welted thistle, also called curly plumeless thistle, is a spiny Eurasian thistle whose stems carry prickly, ribbon-like wings. In the United States it's an introduced weed of pastures and roadsides, and several states regulate it.
Appearance
- Appearance
- A branching usually 2–6 ft (0.5–1.8 m) tall, occasionally taller. Spiny wings run down the stems and up the flower stalks.
- Leaves
- Leaves are 4–8 in (10–20 cm) long with spiny-toothed or lobed edges. The undersides are covered in white, felt-like hair.
- Flowers
- Small heads about 5/8–3/4 in (15–18 mm) across, often in clusters of 2–5 at the stem tips. Usually purple or pink, sometimes white.
- Fruit
- Small, flattened, yellowish- to grayish-brown seeds tipped with a tuft of white hairs.
Look-alikes
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- old fields
- pastures
- roadsides
- stream banks
- disturbed ground
- Range
- Native to Europe and Asia. Naturalized in scattered parts of the United States and Canada, and also in Greenland and India.
- Preferred conditions
- Needs full sun and moist, rich soil. It moves into disturbed places such as old fields, logging sites, rail yards, and stream banks.
Life cycle
- Seed dispersal
- The hairy tufts carry the seeds on the wind.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
- Status
- Listed as invasive or noxious in states including California, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia, and West Virginia.
More species to explore
Record what you meet and build your own collection
Your photos are kept with their date and place, and you can fill regional albums one species at a time.