california thistle

Cirsium occidentale var. californicum

Member of cobwebby thistle (Cirsium occidentale)
plume thistles (genus Cirsium)
thistles
sunflower family (family Asteraceae)
dicots (class Magnoliopsida)
flowering plants (subphylum Angiospermae)

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• heads short- to long-peduncled in ± open cluster, well elevated above proximal leaves
• phyllaries are tomentose, but aren’t significantly interconnected by cobwebby hairs
• phyllaries ascending, spreading, or reflexed (the angle of the phyllary’s curve, not the angle that it sticks out of the head)
• phyllaries occasionally with sticky-resinous ridge
• never sticky on other varieties
• corolla pink, pale purple, salmon, or occasionally white/cream
• uncommon, mostly around Mt. Diablo

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Chris’s observations: none

Taxon info: iNaturalist – Calflora – CalPhotos – Jepson eFlora – FNA

Bay Area species: iNaturalist – Calflora