Carduus tenuiflorus Curtis, 1793

Common names

🇬🇧 Slender Thistle
🇫🇷 Chardon à petites fleurs, Chardon à petits capitules, Chardon à capitules étroits, Chardon à fleurs ténues

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Superasterids
Clade: Asterids
Clade: Campanulids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Carduoideae
Tribe: Cardueae
Subtribe: Carduinae
Genus: Carduus
Species: Carduus tenuiflorus

Presence

Present.

Conservation status

Red List (Metropolitan France): LC Least Concern

Notes

Possible confusion with C. pycnocephalus L., 1763, whose flowers have longer (> 13 mm), purplish corollas and longer peduncles, while those of C. tenuiflorus have shorter (≤ 13 mm), pale pink corollas and shorter, barely visible peduncles.

The following infraspecific taxa are accepted:

C. tenuiflorus subsp. sardous (DC.) Gamisans, Piquemal & Schlüssel, 2004;
C. tenuiflorus subsp. tenuiflorus Curtis, 1793, P.

Hybridizes with C. pycnocephalus L., 1763 to produce C. × theriotii Rouy, 1905, P (het. syn. C. × pycnotenuiflorus Timb.-Lagr. & Jeanb., 1875).

Photographs

img/carduus-tenuiflorus.webp — *Carduus tenuiflorus*

img/carduus-tenuiflorus-2.webp — *Carduus tenuiflorus* - Cauline leaf

Sources

Tison, J.M., & de Foucault, B. (2014). Flora Gallica : Flore de France (p. 406). Biotope.