Western thistle

Carduus occidentalis Nuttall, Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 418. 1841

Biennials, 5–400 cm; taproots. Stems usually 1, thinly to densely gray- or white-tomentose, sometimes ± glabrate; branches few–many, usually from above mid or near base in compact, moundlike dwarf plants, ascending to spreading. Leaves: blades oblong–elliptic to oblanceolate, 6–40 × 1.5–10+ cm, shallowly to deeply pinnatifid, lobes usually rigidly spreading, undivided or with 1–2 pairs of coarse teeth or lobes, main spines 5–15 mm, both faces gray- to white-tomentose, sometimes ± glabrate or adaxial faces green, thinly arachnoid-tomentose; basal sometimes present at flowering, petiolate or sessile and bases tapered. spiny-winged; principal cauline much reduced distally, sessile, bases decurrent or not, as spiny wings; distal much reduced, linear, ± bractlike. Heads 1–many in loose to tight clusters (barely raised above rosette in dwarf plants). Peduncles 1–30 cm. Involucres ovoid to spheric, 1.5–5 × 1.5–8 cm, arachnoid to ± loosely tomentose, often adjacent phyllaries connected by conspicuous arachnoid trichomes, sometimes glabrous or glabrate. Phyllaries in 7–10 series, subequal to strongly imbricate, green or stramineous to purple-tinged, linear to narrowly lanceolate, abaxial faces without glutinous ridge; outer and mid bodies appressed, entire, apices deflexed to spreading or ascending, short-triangular to elongate, linear-acicular, spines spreading to reflexed, 1–10+ mm; apices of inner erect, often flexuous, flat. Corollas white to lavender, pink, rose-purple, or red, 18–40 mm, tubes 8–18 mm, throats 5–7 mm, lobes 5–10 mm; style tips 4–5 mm. Cypselae ± brown, 5–6 mm, apical collars not differentiated; pappi 15–30 mm.

Varieties 7 (7 in the flora): w United States.