Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

WAVY-LEAF THISTLE

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Cirsium undulatum (Nutt. ) Spreng.

Russell County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 1-4 feet

Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family

Flowering Period: June, July, August

Stems:

Erect, stout, leafy, simple or sparingly branched, grooved, white-woolly.

Leaves:

Alternate, crowded, simple, usually pinnately lobed, lanceolate to elliptic, 4 to 12 inches long, 1 to 3 inches wide, light green above, densely white-woolly below; margins wavy, bearing yellow spines; upper leaves gradually reduced in size.

Inflorescences:

Solitary urn-shaped heads, 1 to 1.5 inch wide, terminal; bracts with conspicuous light-colored ridge on the back, tipped with short spines.

Flowers:

Ray florets absent; disk florets numerous, purple to pink.

Fruits:

Achenes, smooth, brown, tipped with white feather-like bristles, enclosing small seed.

Habitat:

Dry prairies, over-grazed pastures, roadsides, and open disturbed areas.

Distribution:

Throughout Kansas.

Forage Value:

Cattle will avoid this native thistle because of its formidable spines. Songbirds will eat the seeds.

Uses:

Native Americans utilized the roots of wavy-leaf thistle as a food source and to make a medicinal tea used as a wash to treat eye diseases in people and livestock.

Comments:

Can become problematic in overgrazed pastures.

Wavy-leaf thistle leaves and infloresence