(Cirsium arvense)
Conservation • Weed • Wetland • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Use • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
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IUCN Red List | not listed |
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NatureServe | NNA - Not applicable SNA - Not applicable |
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Minnesota | not listed |
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Weed Status |
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Prohibited Weed Seed State Prohibited Control Noxious Weed |
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Wetland Indicator Status |
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Great Plains | FACU - Facultative upland |
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Midwest | FACU - Facultative upland |
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Northcentral & Northeast | FACU - Facultative upland |
Description |
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Height |
12″ to 48″ |
Flower Color |
Pink |
Similar Species |
Habitat |
Disturbed sites. Fields, pastures, roadsides, waste places. |
Ecology |
Flowering |
June to October |
Pests and Diseases |
Canada thistle bud weevil (Larinus carlinae) larvae feed in the flower bud and feed on the developing seeds. Canada thistle stem gall fly (Urophora cardui) PST (Pseudomonas syringae pv. tagetis) is a bacterum that causes whitened plant growth (chlorosis) on only the upper portion of the plant. It results in stunted growth, fewer shoots, and inhibition of flowering. |
Use |
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Distribution |
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Sources 2, 3, 5, 7, 22, 24, 28, 29, 30. Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu, 9/12/2025). |
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9/12/2025 | ||
Nativity |
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Native to western Asia and Europe. Introduced and naturalized in North America. | ||
Occurrence |
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Common and widespread |
Taxonomy |
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Kingdom |
Plantae (green algae and land plants) |
Subkingdom |
Viridiplantae (green plants) |
Infrakingdom |
Streptophyta (land plants and green algae) |
Superdivision |
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Division |
Tracheophyta (vascular plants) |
Subdivision |
Spermatophytina (seed plants) / Angiospermae (flowering plants) |
Class |
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Superorder |
Asteranae |
Order |
Asterales (sunflowers, bellflowers, fanflowers, and allies) |
Family |
Asteraceae (sunflowers, daisies, asters, and allies) |
Subfamily |
Carduoideae (thistles and allies) |
Tribe |
Cardueae |
Subtribe |
Carduinae (thistles and burdocks) |
Genus |
Cirsium (plume thistles) |
Subordinate Taxa |
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Some sources recognize two or more varieties. Most sources do not recognize any, including Flora of North America. Numerous variants of Cirsium arvense have been named based upon such features as pubescence, extent of leaf division, and spininess. Although extreme variants can be strikingly different, they are connected by such a web of intermediates that there seems to be little value in according any of them formal taxonomic recognition. |
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Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense var. alpestre) Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense var. arvense) Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense var. horridum) Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense var. integrifolium) Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense var. vestitum) |
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Synonyms |
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Carduus arvensis Cirsium arvense var. argenteum Cirsium arvense var. horridum Cirsium arvense var. integrifolium Cirsium arvense var. mite Cirsium arvense var. vestitum Cirsium incanum Cirsium setosum Serratula arvensis |
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Common Names |
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boar thistle California thistle Canada thistle Canadian thistle creeping thistle perennial thistle |
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Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.
Dan W. Andree |
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Whitish Thistle... Seen thistle with whitish areas on like this along a few rural roadside ditches and along the edge of Sandpiper Prairie SNA end of Aug. 2025. |
Alfredo Colon |
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Bill Reynolds |
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My old field is about to burst out in thistle bloom. I know the Canadian Thistle is on the invasive list, but I let my bees work it then I start cutting the blooms from before they can go to seed. |
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Inflorescence |
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Plant |
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Flower heads |
Flower heads |
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Flower heads |
Flower head |
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Leaves |
Fruiting heads |
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Fruiting heads |
Fruiting heads |
Creeping Thistle
Wez Smith
Cirsium arvense
Matt Lavin
Canada Thistle
Andree Reno Sanborn
Cirsium arvense FIELD THISTLE
Frank Mayfield
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Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.
Canada Thistle, identification of the Wisconsin Invasive Species Cirsium arvense
uwcoopextension
Weed of the Week #597-Canada Thistle (From Ag PhD #597 9/13/09)
AgPhD
Canada Thistle - Phenology Note w John Latimer
NowWatchingKAXE
The Invaders: Canada Thistle
UMDHGIC
This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Be sure to include a location.
Dan W. Andree
Late August 2025
Location: Sandpiper Prairie SNA
Seen thistle with whitish areas on like this along a few rural roadside ditches and along the edge of Sandpiper Prairie SNA end of Aug. 2025.
Avon Hills Forest SNA, North Unit
Bertram Chain of Lakes Regional Park
Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center
Carver Highlands WMA, South Unit
Charles A. Lindbergh State Park
Clifton E. French Regional Park
Felton Prairie SNA, Bicentennial Unit
John Peter Hoffman Spring Brook Valley WMA
Lake Alexander Woods SNA, South Unit
Margherita Preserve-Audubon Prairie
Mary Schmidt Crawford Woods SNA
Minnesota Valley NWR, Chaska Unit
Mound Spring Prairie SNA, North Unit
Nerstrand Big Woods State Park
Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR, Hoffman Unit
Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR, Pavia Unit
Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR, Rengstorf Unit
Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR, Spieker Unit
Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR, Touch the Sky Prairie Unit
Pembina Trail Preserve SNA, Crookston Prairie Unit
Pembina Trail Preserve SNA, Pembina Trail Unit
Prairie Creek WMA, Koester Prairie Unit
Richard M. & Mathilde Rice Elliott SNA
Robert Ney Memorial Park Reserve
Sand Prairie Wildlife Management and Environmental Education Area
Spring Beauty Northern Hardwoods SNA
Verlyn Marth Memorial Prairie SNA