Cirsium rivulare | |
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Scientific classification
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Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Genus: | Cirsium |
Species: | C. rivulare
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Binomial name | |
Cirsium rivulare |
Cirsium rivulare is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to eastern and western Europe, adventive in Britain, and naturalised in Sweden and Belgium. [1]
Growing to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall, this erect herbaceous perennial is a clump-forming thistle, with narrow grey-green prickly leaves and small purple globular flowerheads in early to midsummer. [2]
The Latin specific epithet rivulare means "brook loving". [3] The plant prefers moist conditions but can tolerate some dryness.
The cultivar Cirsium rivulare 'Atropurpureum', with deep crimson flowers, has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [4] It is very hardy down to at least −20 °C (−4 °F) ( RHS rating H7), and thrives in full sun.