Bull Thistle, Boar Thistle, Common Thistle, Dodder, Spear Thistle

Cirsium vulgare

(Cirsium vulgare subsp. vulgare)

SIR-see-um  vul-GAIR-ee

Synonyms of Cirsium vulgare: (3) (Updated on 11-30-23 from Plants of the World Online): Carduus spinosissimus Gerbi (1794) (nom. illeg.), Carduus vulgaris Savi (1798), Epitrachys vulgaris (Savi) K.Koch (1851)

Plants of the World Online lists 69 synonyms of Cirsium vulgare var. vulgare which you can view by clicking HERE. I didn’t include them here because they would take up a lot of space…

Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Ten. is the accepted scientific name for this species of Thistle. It was named and described as such by Michele Tenore in Flora Napolitana in 1835. It was first named Carduus vulgaris by C. Gaetano Savi and described in Flora Pisana in 1798.

Accepted infraspecific names of Cirsium vulgare (2):  Cirsium vulgare var. litorale P.D.Sell and *Cirsium vulgare var. vulgare (autonym). *When an infraspecific taxon is named, an autonym (“type-specimen”) is automatically generated whose description is closest to the (original) species. All have their own list of synonyms. Cirsium vulgare var. litorale is found in Great Britain.

The genus, Cirsium Mill., was named and described by Philip Miller in the 4th edition of The Gardeners Dictionary 1754.

As of 11-30-23 when this page was last updated, Plants of the World Online lists 378 species in the Cirsium genus. It is a member of the plant family Asteraceae with 1,702 genera. Those numbers could change as updates are made on POWO. The number of genera in the family fluctuates quite often.

As you can see by the above distribution map from Plants of the World Online, Cirsium vulgare is quite widespread. Areas in green are where the species is native and purple is where it has been introduced. The map of the USDA Plants Database for the United States and Canada is the same. 

The map on iNaturalist shows where members have made observations. Anyone can join and it is a great website to confirm and share your observations. The maps on iNaturalist are continually updated as members post new observations.

THERE ARE SEVERAL LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING AND FOR BETTER POSITIVE ID.

Cirsium vulgare isn’t a real problem here on the farm because we have kept it in check. I moved back here on the family farm in 2013 and dad said he always just dug them up and on occasion mowed them off. I have sprayed, dug, and mowed from 2013 through 2020 and there are still a few and there probably always will be. Their seed is viable in the ground and can come up for 30-50 years (depending on which website you read). My grandparents lived on this farm, then my parents, and now me. My grandpa and my dad dug, mowed, and sprayed them and now I am doing it… If you don’t, they will become quite bad… Luckily they are only growing in the front pasture and around the pond in the front pasture and a few here and there in the yard. Rarely have I seen this species anywhere else here.

Spraying and digging are both effective ways to control the Bull Thistle. If spraying is not your thing, you can dig into the root a couple of inches below the soil which will kill the plant. It is best to dig or spray even the smallest plants. The first year they will appear as a rosette and the next year they will grow taller and flower. Some plants will grow tall early while others will continue to grow throughout the summer. It is a continual work in progress. The old saying, “if you can’t beat them, join them” does not apply.

I am not going to go into a lot of detail about the descriptions of the leaves, stems, etc. because they are fairly unmistakable. In layman’s terms, their leaves are fleshy, dark green, kind of hairy, with sharp spines on the margins and leaf tips. The stems are also hairy and spiny.

I know it will sound weird, but I think Thistles are interesting plants. Well, I also like growing a lot of cacti. The plant in the above photo was growing behind one of the sheds and I left it so I could get photos of the flowers. I had been working on a friend’s farm in 2019 spraying and digging THOUSANDS of Musk Thistles (Carduus nutans) and then his Bull Thistles pretty much all summer. After that, I sprayed this plant before it flowered. There were others in the pasture which I also got rid of before flowering… I was sure I took photos of their flowers previously, but apparently not. 

I took the above photo of a small Cirsium vulgare (Bull Thistle) in the yard in February 2020…

Well, what can I say? I was busy over the summer and I let one grow and go to seed. I am sure there are others that manage to go to seed. I have come a long way from several years ago and now I don’t have so many growing here.

I have enjoyed photographing and learning about the many wildflowers growing on the farm and in other areas. I have grown over 500 different plants and identified over 250 species of wildflowers (most have pages listed on the right side of the blog). I am not an expert, botanist, or horticulturalist. I just like growing, photographing, and writing about my experience. I rely on several websites for ID and a horticulturalist I contact if I cannot figure them out. Wildflowers can be somewhat variable from location to location, so sometimes it gets a bit confusing. If you see I have made an error, please let me know so I can correct what I have written.

I hope you found this page useful and be sure to check the links below for more information. They were written by experts and provide much more information. If you can, I would appreciate it if you would click on the “Like” below and leave a comment. It helps us bloggers stay motivated. You can also send an email to me at thebelmontrooster@yahoo.com. I would enjoy hearing from you.

FOR FURTHER READING:
PLANTS OF THE WORLD ONLINE (GENUS/SPECIES)
INTERNATIONAL PLANT NAMES INDEX (GENUS/SPECIES)
TROPICOS (GENUS/SPECIES)
FLORA OF MISSOURI (GENUS/SPECIES)
FLORA OF NORTH AMERICA (GENUS/SPECIES)
WORLD FLORA ONLINE (GENUS/SPECIES)
USDA PLANTS DATABASE
WIKIPEDIA (GENUS/SPECIES)
DAVE’S GARDEN
MISSOURI PLANTS
MSU-MIDWEST WEEDS AND WILDFLOWERS
iNATURALIST
WILDFLOWER SEARCH
ILLINOIS WILDFLOWERS
MINNESOTA WILDFLOWERS
KANSAS WILDFLOWERS AND GRASSES
PFAF (PLANTS FOR A FUTURE)
INVASIVE PLANT ATLAS
BULL THISTLE IDENTIFICATION AND CONTROL
PLANTZAFRICA
THE FRIENDS OF THE WILDFLOWER GARDEN
GO BOTANY

NOTE: The data (figures, maps, accepted names, etc.) may not match on these websites. It depends on when and how they make updates and when their sources make updates. Some websites have hundreds and even many thousands of species to keep up with. Accepted scientific names change periodically and it can be hard to keep with as well. Some of the links may use a name that is a synonym on other sites. In my opinion, Plants of the World Online by Kew is the most reliable and up-to-date plant database and they make updates on a regular basis. I make updates “at least” once a year and when I write new pages or add new photos but I do get behind. We are all a work in progress. 🙂