Taxon: Carduus pycnocephalus L.

Summary

Genus:

Carduus

Family:

Asteraceae (alt. Compositae)

Subfamily:

Carduoideae

Tribe:

Cardueae

Subtribe:

Carduinae

Nomen number:

316603

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. ed. 2, 2:1151. 1763

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

02/29/2012 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

0 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System.

Other conspecific taxa

Carduus pycnocephalus L. subsp. cinereus (M. Bieb.) P. H. Davis (0 active accession[s])
Carduus pycnocephalus L. subsp. pycnocephalus (0 active accession[s])

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

No images

Links

Forestry Images – Images of invasive weeds from www.forestryimages.org

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
Botanical Society of the British Isles. BSBI taxon database (on-line resource).
Boulos, L. 1999-. Flora of Egypt
Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 2:1275.
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Ghazanfar, S. A. 1992. An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of Oman. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2 Note: = Carduus australis L. f.
Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. 1993. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17.
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds
Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Jahandiez, E. & R. Maire. 1931-1941. Catalogue des plantes du Maroc.
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
Parsons, W. T. & E. G. Cuthbertson. 1992. Noxious weeds of Australia Inkata Press, Melbourne, Australia.
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Ryder, E. J. 1999. Lettuce, endive and chicory. Crop Prod. Sci. Hort. 9:134.
Seed Regulatory and Testing Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. State noxious-weed seed requirements recognized in the administration of the Federal Seed Act (updated annually).
Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
International Seed Testing Association wild species list

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	Italian thistle	1	Seed Regulatory and Testing Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. State noxious-weed seed requirements recognized in the administration of the Federal Seed Act (updated annually).
English	Plymouth thistle	1	Botanical Society of the British Isles. BSBI taxon database (on-line resource).
English	sheep thistle	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	shore thistle	1	Parsons, W. T. & E. G. Cuthbertson. 1992. Noxious weeds of Australia Inkata Press, Melbourne, Australia.
English	slender thistle	1	Parsons, W. T. & E. G. Cuthbertson. 1992. Noxious weeds of Australia Inkata Press, Melbourne, Australia.
English	slender winged thistle	1	Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
English	slender-flower thistle	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	winged slender thistle	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	woolly thistle	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Arabic	lisan el-kalb	2	Boulos, L. 1999-. Flora of Egypt
German	knaulköpfige Distel	2	Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 2:1275.
Swedish	gyttertistel	2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Algeria			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Egypt			Boulos, L. 1999-. Flora of Egypt
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Libya			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Morocco			Jahandiez, E. & R. Maire. 1931-1941. Catalogue des plantes du Maroc.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Tunisia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Armenia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Azerbaijan			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Georgia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Afghanistan			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Cyprus			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iran			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iraq			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Israel			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Jordan			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Syria			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Turkey			Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Jammu and Kashmir		Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Moldova			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine		incl. Krym	Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Switzerland			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Albania			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bosnia and Herzegovina			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bulgaria			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Croatia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Greece		incl. Crete	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy		incl. Sardinia, Sicily	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Montenegro			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	North Macedonia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Slovenia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France		incl. Corsica	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain		incl. Baleares	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Portugal	Madeira Islands		Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Spain	Canarias		Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Oman		s.	Ghazanfar, S. A. 1992. An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of Oman. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2 Note: = Carduus australis L. f.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Sri Lanka			Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia			Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	New Zealand	New Zealand			Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New York		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Pennsylvania		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Idaho		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Oregon		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	Texas		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Alabama		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Arkansas		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Mississippi		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	South Carolina		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	California		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	Hawaii		Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Uruguay			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.

Native
Africa

NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia

Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Turkey
CAUCASUS: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India [Jammu and Kashmir], Pakistan

Europe

MIDDLE EUROPE: Switzerland
EASTERN EUROPE: Moldova, Ukraine (incl. Krym)
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece (incl. Crete), Croatia, Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), North Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain (incl. Baleares), France (incl. Corsica)

Naturalized
Africa

MACARONESIA: Spain [Canarias], Portugal [Madeira Islands]
NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia

Asia-Temperate

ARABIAN PENINSULA: Oman (s.)

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Sri Lanka

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia
NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand

Northern America

NORTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [New York, Pennsylvania]
NORTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Idaho, Oregon]
SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, South Carolina]
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas]
SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [California]

Pacific

NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]

Southern America

SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay

Reference(s)

Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
Boulos, L. 1999-. Flora of Egypt
Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Ghazanfar, S. A. 1992. An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of Oman. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2 Note: = Carduus australis L. f.
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Jahandiez, E. & R. Maire. 1931-1941. Catalogue des plantes du Maroc.
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Harmful organism host	crop diseases		Ryder, E. J. 1999. Lettuce, endive and chicory. Crop Prod. Sci. Hort. 9:134.
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=316603. Accessed 20 October 2026.