Musk Thistle (Carduus nutans) скачать в хорошем качестве

Musk Thistle (Carduus nutans)

How to identify Musk Thistle (Carduus nutans) Musk thistle, or nodding thistle, is a weed in the sunflower family Asteraceae that was introduced into North America from Europe and Western Asia. It is a biennial plant that blooms in the spring and summer, and grows only from seed. The plant has multiple large, branching stems which each produce a single flower on top. The leaves usually have a light green or cream-colored midrib. Sometimes the leaf margins have a frosted or white appearance, which can be very distinct. The leaves are deeply lobed with yellow spines on the margins. The leaves extend up the stem and begin to look like wings before fading out ahead of the flower. Musk thistle produces many flowers, which can bloom soon after the plant bolts in the spring. Each stem is topped with a single flower, unlike many other thistle species. The tallest shoots flower first, then the shorter shoots. The flowers are two to three inches in diameter, and vary slightly from pink to purple in color. A flower will begin to shed seed about two weeks after it forms, and the plant can produce seed for seven to nine weeks during the growing season. The plant grows from a single taproot, and only reproduces via seed. Musk thistle is commonly found around buildings, roadsides, and pastures where there is disturbance but not frequent tillage. Its biennial growth habit requires relatively stable soil The plant is edible, but I wouldn’t eat it. Canada thistle is another plant in the Asteraceae family that is often confused with musk thistle, but can in fact be easily distinguished by its single stems which spread via rhizomes and the multiple flowers that grow on each stem. Sources: Weeds of the West, 5th Edition (1991) by Tom D. Whitson, published by the Western Society of Weed Science University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources IPM – Weed Gallery http://ipm.ucanr.edu/ United States Department of Agriculture – Plant Database https://plants.usda.gov