A native of western Europe, musk thistle was introduced into the eastern United States in the early 1800s and has a long history as a rangeland pest in the U.S. It was first discovered in Davidson County, Tennessee in 1942 and has been

Erect, spiny biennial with deeply lobed leaves and relatively large flowers that are pink to violet or purple in color. Musk thistle is similar in growth habit and appearance to Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare), however bull thistle has many hairs on the upper surface of the leaf blades unlike musk thistle which mostly lacks hairs. Additionally ...

Carduus nutans is a biennial plant in the daisy and sunflower family Asteraceae with the common names musk thistle, [1] nodding thistle, and nodding plumeless thistle. It is native to regions of Europe, Central Asia, and North Africa, where it is a scattered pasture plant.

Musk thistle was introduced to North America as a garden flower by European colonists. The musk thistle weevil was introduced as a biological control agent in the 1980’s and is common across the state. Its larvae feed on developing seed within the flower head. Musk thistle produces a basal rosette during the first year.

An invasive native of Eurasia that is spreading in Missouri, musk thistle is a plant you should know. Learn how to tell the difference between our native thistles and these bad guys.

By seed Weedy characteristics: Musk thistle is highly competitive and aggressive, and forms dense colonies, choking out native vegetation important to wildlife. Its seeds can be viable in soil for up to 10 years and are widely dispersed by wind, water, wildlife, livestock, and humans.

Leaves: alternate, 15.0-40.0 cm long, 5.0-12.0 cm wide, dark green with light green midribs and white margins, deeply lobed with 3-5 points per lobe; spines prominent on each lobe. Reproductive Characteristics:

Musk thistle can be distinguished from other thistles by the large disk-shaped flowers and spine-tipped leaves. Unlike musk thistle, the Canada thistle, has small flower heads and smooth stems and plumose bristles; while the Bull thistle has upper leaf …

1997年1月23日 · The dark brown-black, 1/4" long beetle has a short, broad snout and patches of small golden scales on its wing covers. The larval stage of the insect, a legless white grub, feeds on seeds in the receptacle of the developing thistle flower.

Flowers with spine-tipped bracts, deep pink to purple, rarely white, and arranged in nodding heads. Reproduces by seed. Occurs from North Carolina to Louisiana excluding Florida.