Plant Name
Scientific Name: Cirsium arizonicum
Synonyms: Cirsium nidulum, Cnicus arizonicus
Common Name: Arizona Thistle
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Biennial, Perennial
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Upland, Mountain. It grows at elevations from 3000 to 7000 feet (914 to 2134 m) in foothill canyons, in chaparral, or at the edges of pine forests.
Flower Color: Red
Flowering Season: Spring (late), Summer
Height: To 4 feet (1.2 m) tall
Description: The flower heads are slender (for a thistle), up to 2 inches (5 cm) long, and surrounded by spine-tipped bracts. The leaves are alternate, narrowly egg-shaped, and pinnately-lobed with spiny teeth.
Special Characteristics
Hummingbird Flower – The flowers attract hummingbirds.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae – Aster family
Genus: Cirsium Mill. – thistle
Species: Cirsium arizonicum (A. Gray) Petr. – Arizona thistle
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