Cirsium funkiae
(Funk’s Thistle)
Cirsium funkiae, Mosquito Pass, Park Co. 2885
Cirsium funkiae, Mosquito Pass, Park Co. 2933
Cirsium funkiae, Mosquito Pass, Park Co. 2953
Cirsium funkiae, Black Powder Pass, Summit Co. 05070
| Scientific Name | Cirsium funkiae | USDA PLANTS Symbol | n/a |
| Common Name | Funk's Thistle | ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. | n/a |
| Family | Asteraceae (Sunflower) | SEINet Reference |
n/a |
| Description |
Life zones and habitat: Subalpine and alpine (10500 to 13500 ft.); open areas, tundra, scree, meadows, windswept alpine ridges. Plant: Upright perennial, 8 to 28 inches tall; single or a few stout, woolly-hairy, spiney stems. Leaves: Basal and stem leaves, oblong to narrowly-elliptic 3 to 10 inches long, deeply pinnately-lobed with 8 to 18 pairs of lobes tipped by spines up to nearly 1/2-inch long; smooth to or with woolly hairs above, woolly-hairy below; sessile or clasping. Inflorescence: Large densely-packed clusters of often nodding, very hairy flower heads, subtended by smaller leaves; no ray flowers; disk florets with pale yellow corolla tubes and yellow styles protruding beyond the corolla lobes; white densely-hairy involucres with unequal-length green phyllaries with spines 1/4 to 5/8-inch long. Bloom Period: July and August. References: "Flora of Colorado" Second Edition by Jennifer Ackerfield and "Hiding in Plain Sight: Two New Species..." by Jennifer Ackerdield. Note: In the research document Thistle be a mess: Untangling the taxonomy of Cirsium (Cardueae: Compositae) in North America by Ackerfield, et al, C. funkiae is determined to have been mis-classified as C. eatonii var. eriocephalum and/or C. scopulorum by various authors. |
BONAP Distribution Map n/a |
Colorado Status: Native |
© Tom Lebsack 2024
Banner photo: Castilleja rhexifolia and a brewing storm over the San Juan Mountains