Cirsium includes both biennial and perennial species characterized by their spiny foliage and distinctive thistle-like flower heads.

Cirsium

Cirsium 'Mount Etna' is a herbaceous perennial that reaches heights of up to 60 cm. It features deeply lobed, softly spiny green foliage. In midsummer, it produces pincushion-shaped flower heads, which can continue blooming into late summer if regularly deadheaded. The flowers are creamy white with prominent magenta-pink filaments. This plant attracts pollinators, and if some flowers are left to mature, the seed heads can serve as a food source for finches.

Cirsium 'Mount Etna'

Cirsium 'Roumania'

Cirsium 'White'

Cirsium acarna Moench.

Cirsium acaule is a low perennial plant characterized by a rosette of rigid, spiny leaves that are glossy and green. During the summer months, it produces thistle-like blooms, typically appearing as solitary flowers without stems. These flowers feature clusters of tubular petals in a violet hue, which later develop into fluffy white seed heads.

Cirsium acaule

Cirsium altissimum

Cirsium anartiolepis

Cirsium aomorense

Cirsium arachnoideum is a herbaceous perennial that typically reaches heights of approximately 80 cm. It features upright, somewhat angular stems and elongated, spiny leaves that are divided almost to their base. During mid to late summer, it bears thistle-like flower heads adorned with densely arranged spiny bracts that have web-like hairs along the edges, revealing delicate purple florets as they open. After flowering, the plant develops fluffy seed heads.

Cirsium arachnoideum

Cirsium arizonicum

Cirsium arvense is a vigorous perennial that can grow up to 1 meter tall, spreading rapidly through its rhizomatous root system. Its stems typically lack spines, while the leaves are deeply lobed and have a spiny texture. From June to September, clusters of pinkish-lilac flowers, measuring 1 to 1.5 centimeters in diameter, appear, eventually forming the characteristic thistledown that aids in wind dispersal.

Cirsium arvense

Cirsium arvense subsp. segetum

Cirsium atroroseum

Cirsium botryodes

Cirsium boujarti Sch. Bip.

Cirsium brachycephalum

Cirsium candelebrum

Cirsium canum

Cirsium chamaepuce (L.) Ten.

Cirsium chlorolepis

Cirsium ciliatum

Cirsium conspicuum

Cirsium coulteri

Cirsium discolor

Cirsium dissectum is a perennial plant that forms clumps and thrives in moist meadow environments, typically reaching heights of 60 to 80 centimeters. It features primarily basal leaves that are mid-green on the upper surface and white underneath, edged with soft spines. The stems are downy and ridged, supporting flower heads that measure up to 3 centimeters long and exhibit a reddish-purple hue. This species blooms from early summer through late summer.

Cirsium dissectum

Cirsium douglasii

Cirsium edule

Cirsium eriophoroides

Cirsium eriophorum is a robust biennial that can reach heights of 1.5 meters. Its stems are covered in a dense layer of wool, while the elongated, rigid leaves are pinnately divided, featuring yellowish spines along the edges and a soft, white felt on their undersides. During late summer, this species displays spherical, woolly flower heads that bloom from the top, revealing clusters of tubular petals in a violet hue.

Cirsium eriophorum

Cirsium eriophorum subsp. britannicum

Cirsium erisithales is a perennial plant that forms clumps and can reach heights of up to 1.5 meters. It features sticky stems and elongated, deeply lobed leaves that are spiny. During the summer months, it produces tall stems topped with nodding flowers resembling thistles, characterized by tubular petals that are light yellow in color.

Cirsium erisithales

Cirsium falconeri

Cirsium ferox

Cirsium foliosum

Cirsium forrestii

Cirsium handelii

Cirsium heterophyllum is a perennial plant that forms dense clumps and can reach heights of up to 1.2 meters. Its lanceolate green leaves feature softly spiny margins and a white, felt-like underside. During the summer months, it produces spherical flower heads measuring 3 to 5 centimeters in diameter, which are purple-pink in color and grow atop upright, woolly stems.

Cirsium heterophyllum

Cirsium heterophyllum 'Pink Blush' is a robust perennial that forms dense clumps and features elongated, slender, dark green foliage with a soft, white fuzz beneath. In mid- to late summer, it produces large thistle-like blooms that are primarily white, accented by bright purple-pink anthers, all held aloft on sturdy, hairy stems.

Cirsium heterophyllum 'Pink Blush'

Cirsium horridalum

Cirsium japonicum is a clump-forming biennial or short-lived perennial that can grow as tall as 2 meters. It features deeply lobed, spiny leaves that are dark green in color. From late summer to early autumn, this plant produces upright, branching stems topped with thistle-like flowers that have tubular petals in shades of pink or lilac purple.

Cirsium japonicum

Cirsium japonicum 'Early Pink Beauty'

Cirsium japonicum 'Early Rose Beauty'

Cirsium japonicum 'Mura-kumo' (v)

Cirsium japonicum 'Pink Beauty' is a clump-forming biennial or short-lived perennial that reaches a height of approximately 90 cm. It features elongated, deeply lobed leaves that are slightly spiny and green in color. From late summer into early autumn, it generates tall, branching stems that support thistle-like flowers, characterized by rounded clusters of tubular petals in a light pink hue.

Cirsium japonicum 'Pink Beauty'

Cirsium japonicum 'Pink and Rose Beauty'

Cirsium japonicum 'Rose Beauty' is a clump-forming biennial or short-lived perennial that reaches heights of approximately 1.2 meters. It features elongated, deeply lobed leaves that are slightly spiny and green in color. From late summer to early autumn, this plant produces tall, branching stems topped with thistle-like flowers, characterized by rounded clusters of tubular, deep pink petals.

Cirsium japonicum 'Rose Beauty'

Cirsium japonicum 'Snow Beauty'

Cirsium japonicum 'Strawberry Ripple'

Cirsium japonicum 'White Beauty'

Cirsium japonicum 'White Victory'

Cirsium kamtschaticum

Cirsium latifolium

Cirsium lipskyi

Cirsium mexicana

Cirsium mexicanum

Cirsium monspessulanum

Cirsium nipponicum var. incomptum

Cirsium obvalatum DC

Cirsium occidentale

Cirsium oleraceum is a clump-forming perennial that can reach heights of up to 1.2 meters. Its leaves are deeply lobed and feature softly spiny margins with a mid-green hue. During late summer and early autumn, this plant produces clusters of creamy thistle-like flowers at the tips of its stems, encased by large green bracts. This species has also been utilized as a vegetable.

Cirsium oleraceum

Cirsium palustre is a biennial thistle native to its region, growing up to approximately 1.5 meters tall. This plant thrives in damp soil conditions. Its robust, spiny, and hairy stem supports dark green leaves with spiny margins. During the summer months, it produces clusters of thistle flower heads that are dark purple.

Cirsium palustre

Cirsium palustre 'Love and Hate'

Cirsium pastoris

Cirsium pectinellum var. alpinum

Cirsium pumilum

Cirsium purpuratum is a herbaceous perennial that typically reaches heights of up to 1 meter. Its leaves are lobed, spiny, and dark green, measuring up to 70 centimeters in length at the base and gradually reducing in size along the stems. In late summer, it showcases sizable, drooping flower heads adorned with recurved, spiny bracts and clusters of delicate purple-pink florets. After flowering, the plant develops fluffy seed heads.

Cirsium purpuratum

Cirsium purpuratum 'Tata'

Cirsium rivulare is a perennial that forms dense clumps, reaching heights of approximately 1.2 meters. Its foliage consists of simple, lobed or divided leaves that are spiny and deep green, with a hairy texture on the undersides. During early to mid-summer, this plant bears rounded flowers resembling thistles, featuring tubular petals in shades of reddish-purple.

Cirsium rivulare

This upright perennial produces a cluster of branching stems adorned with leaves, culminating in spherical flower heads that measure 3 cm in diameter and display a rich red hue during the summer months.

Cirsium rivulare 'Atropurpureum'

Cirsium rivulare 'Trevor's Felley Find' PBR is a perennial that grows in clumps, reaching heights of up to 1.2 meters. It features soft, purple-tinged stems and silvery green leaves at the base. During summer, it produces pincushion-shaped flower heads in violet-purple, with additional blooms possible if deadheaded. These flowers attract pollinators, and leaving the final blooms can yield seed heads that serve as a food source for finches.

Cirsium rivulare 'Trevor's Felley Find'PBR

Cirsium rivulare Frosted Magic ('Lowcir' PBR) is a perennial that grows in clumps, reaching heights of up to 1.2 meters. It features a rosette of green foliage at the base and produces flowering stems topped with pincushion-shaped white flowerheads during the summer months, especially if regularly deadheaded. These blooms attract pollinators, while the seedheads offer a food source for finches.

Cirsium rivulare Frosted Magic ('Lowcir'PBR)

Cirsium scopulorum

Cirsium setidens

Cirsium setosum

Cirsium sieboldii

Cirsium spinosissimum is a herbaceous perennial that can reach heights of up to 80 cm. It features rigid, narrow leaves with a glossy green finish, distinctly lobed and edged with spines. During late summer, the plant produces leafy flower stems that culminate in elongated, pale yellow bracts, which almost encase dense groupings of rounded flowers composed of delicate, pale yellow-brown florets.

Cirsium spinosissimum

Cirsium subcoriaceum pink-flowered

Cirsium subcoriaceum yellow-flowered

Cirsium tuberosum is a perennial herb that develops a dense mound of green, finely serrated foliage, reaching heights of up to 60 cm and spreading approximately 30 cm from a basal rosette. From June through August, it blooms with thistle-like flowers in a rich purplish-pink hue.

Cirsium tuberosum

Cirsium ugoense

This biennial plant reaches up to one metre tall and features spiny stems along with deeply lobed, pointed foliage. From midsummer to early autumn, it produces pinkish-purple thistle flowers that appear either individually or in clusters.