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Introductory

SPECIES: Cirsium vulgare | Bull Thistle
ABBREVIATION : CIRVUL SYNONYMS : Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Airy-Shaw [32] SCS PLANT CODE : CIVU COMMON NAMES : bull thistle common thistle spear thistle TAXONOMY : The currently accepted scientific name of bull thistle is Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Tenore [12,16,28]. It is a member of the sunflower family (Asteraceae). LIFE FORM : Forb FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : No special status OTHER STATUS : NO-ENTRY COMPILED BY AND DATE : Roberta A. Walsh, September 1993 LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : NO-ENTRY AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : Walsh, Roberta A. 1993. Cirsium vulgare. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE

SPECIES: Cirsium vulgare | Bull Thistle
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : Bull thistle is found throughout the United States, north into Canada from Newfoundland to British Columbia, and into Mexico. It is widely distributed in Europe and Asia Minor, where it is native. It also occurs through much of the rest of the world, including western Asia, South America, New Zealand, and Australia [13,18,23,28]. ECOSYSTEMS : Bull thistle occurs in most ecosystems STATES : AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY AB BC MB NB NF NT NS ON PE PQ SK YT MEXICO ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : ACAD ALPO AMIS APIS ASIS BADL BIHO BICA BLCA BLRI CACH CANY CARE CATO CHCH COLO COLM CODA CRMO CUVA DEWA DETO DINO FIIS GATE GWCA GWMP GLAC GRCA GRTE GRSM HALE HAVO INDU ISRO JODA JOFL LAVO LABE MEVE MORA NERI NOCA OLYM PIRO PIPE PORE REDW RICH ROCR ROMO SAJH SAMO SHEN SLBE TICA VAFO VOYA WACA WHIS WICA YELL YOSE BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 1 Northern Pacific Border 2 Cascade Mountains 3 Southern Pacific Border 4 Sierra Mountains 5 Columbia Plateau 6 Upper Basin and Range 7 Lower Basin and Range 8 Northern Rocky Mountains 9 Middle Rocky Mountains 10 Wyoming Basin 11 Southern Rocky Mountains 12 Colorado Plateau 13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont 14 Great Plains 15 Black Hills Uplift 16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : Bull thistle occurs in most Kuchler Plant Associations SAF COVER TYPES : Bull thistle occurs in most SAF Cover Types SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : NO-ENTRY HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : NO-ENTRY

VALUE AND USE

SPECIES: Cirsium vulgare | Bull Thistle
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : NO-ENTRY IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : Sheep eat bull thistle seedlings or small rosettes. Rabbits eat leaves and flowering stems, especially in winter and early spring [18]. Gophers and other small burrowing animals eat the roots, especially taproots of rosettes [23]. Although bull thistle made up 1 percent of the total seed plant canopy coverage in bighorn sheep wintering areas just outside Yellowstone National Park, the bighorn sheep did not use it. Juncos increased on a logged and burned site in western Oregon as bull thistle presence increased [14]. In Europe, goldfinches and linnets feed on bull thistle seeds. Pheasants graze on seedlings [18]. PALATABILITY : Because of its spiny stems and leaves, bull thistle is unpalatable to most livestock. Domestic sheep in Australia, however, graze bull thistle and dig for taproots [18]. Bull thistle palatability for livestock in several western states is as follows [5]: MT ND UT WY Cattle poor poor poor poor Sheep poor fair fair poor Horses poor poor poor poor NUTRITIONAL VALUE : The energy value and protein value of bull thistle for livestock is poor. The food value of bull thistle for several species of wildlife in several western states is [5]: UT WY MT Elk fair good ---- Mule deer fair good poor White-tailed deer ---- good ---- Pronghorn fair fair ---- Upland game birds good fair ---- Waterfowl poor poor ---- Small nongame birds good good ---- Small mammals good good ---- COVER VALUE : The cover value of bull thistle for several species of wildlife in some western states is [5]: UT WY Elk poor poor Mule deer poor poor White-tailed deer ---- poor Pronghorn poor poor Upland game birds fair good Waterfowl poor poor Small nongame birds fair good Small mammals good good VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : NO-ENTRY OTHER USES AND VALUES : Bull thistle can cause hayfever [5]. Bull thistle is edible [5]. The taproots of rosettes are peeled, boiled, and eaten, or the boiled roots are dried and ground into flour. The young stems and leaves, with spines removed, are eaten raw or boiled as a green vegetable [7]. MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : Bull thistle has been introduced in North America as a seed contaminant, and is widely established [30]. It infests thousands of acres of cultivated land and pastures. Its wind-disseminated seeds and long fleshy taproot make it a hardy weed [22]. Trampling by visitors in Yosemite Valley, California, favors bull thistle. The rosette is relatively resistant to trampling. Meadows with highest use are the most heavily infested [24]. Forestry: Transplanted Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) seedlings on clearcuts in western Oregon grew significantly taller on plots chemically weeded for bull thistle and other weeds than did seedlings on control plots [10]. Rangeland: Sheep grazing other neighboring plants can cause increased bull thistle infestation [18]. When herbivores damage bull thistle stems, there can be great reduction in seed output unless secondary flowering stems form [18]. Control: The presence of tall herbs reduces bull thistle seedling survival. When grass growth was reduced by herbicide spraying, bull thistle increased in frequency [18] Cutting bull thistles may help control it by limiting seed production. Travel distance of wind-dispersed seeds is further with taller plants, and decreasing plant height may limit spread [18]. Seeds may be released from bull thistle stems cut 5 to 10 days after their flowers open. Such plants should be removed from the area after they are cut [23]. Mowing effectively controlled bull thistle in meadows in Yosemite National Park. It is most efficient to cut late in the season, when most of the plants have bolted, but before significant numbers flower. Plants will sprout from the stem and flower if mown too early. Plants cut 8 inches (20 cm) or more above ground have a greater chance of sprouting. A second sweep through, a month after the first, results in the elimination of most flowering bull thistle [23]. Bull thistle roots need not be pulled or grubbed out of the soil to kill the plant. This disturbs the soil and leads to greater infestation. When bull thistle plants were cut at or near the soil surface, almost no sprouting occurred. However, because a plant may remain in the rosette stage for up to 5 years before flowering, a control program of cutting bolted individuals may have to be continued for several years [18,23]. The most promising candidate for biological control of bull thistle in Canada is the fruit fly Urophora stylata, which forms galls in the flower heads. The fly is almost exclusively restricted to bull thistle as a host [18].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

SPECIES: Cirsium vulgare | Bull Thistle
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : Bull thistle is an introduced biennial herb which produces a first-year rosette. Several primary roots develop from the root crown, and each bear a number of smaller lateral roots. One becomes longer and thicker, forming a short, fleshy taproot up to 27.5 inches (70 cm) long. The (usually) second-year flowering stem is 1.6 to 6.6 feet (0.5-2.0 m) tall, with many spreading branches. Flower heads are 1 to 2 inches (2.5-5.0 cm) in diameter, few or solitary on naked peduncles up to 6 inches (15 cm) long. All flowers are hermaphroditic. Achenes are about 0.1 inch (2.5 mm) long [3,12,15,18]. RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : Hemicryptophyte Geophyte REGENERATION PROCESSES : Bull thistle is a monocarpic herb which must regenerate from seed. Seeds have little dormancy, and germinate rapidly whenever conditions are favorable [13,18]. In the Netherlands, seed germination varied between 60 percent and 90 percent, and was highest in the temperature range 50 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit (10-30 deg C). Seeds stored for more than 3 years at room temperature did not germinate [18]. In west-central Idaho, bull thistle seeds were found in the seedbank of three forest habitat types, although bull thistle plants were rare or absent. Eighty-seven percent of bull thistle seeds were found in the upper 2 inches (5 cm) of soil, and 13 percent at 2 to 4 inches (5-10 cm) [19]. In Yosemite National Park, California, clipping in plots where bull thistle was previously absent promoted bull thistle seedling establishment, and digging further promoted it. Establishment was greatest in areas of intermediate soil moisture, and least in very wet and very dry areas [23]. SITE CHARACTERISTICS : Bull thistle grows in dry to moist habitats [5] in fields, pastures, grasslands, first-year meadows, road verges, fertile spoil heaps, coastal dunes, and wastelands. It also occurs in woodland clearings, rock outcrops, on the banks of rivers and streams, and in hedgerows. It is an agressive weed, but it will not survive where cultivation has cut back its stem and destroyed its root system [18,28]. Bull thistle occurs from cool-temperate zones to warm-temperate subtropical zones [18]. Bull thistle makes good growth on gentle slopes, fair growth on moderate slopes, and poor growth on steep slopes [5]. It occurs on soils with a wide range of pH values, having a peak on almost neutral soils, and being very rare on soils of pH less than 4.8 to 5. It thrives on nitrogen-rich soils [18], and it grows on gravelly- to clayey-textured soils. Bull thistle has been reported at the following elevations in several western states [5,23]: Elevation (feet) Elevation (m) CA 0-9,000 0-2,750 CO 5,000-10,800 1,525-3,290 MT 3,600-4,600 1,100-1,400 UT 5,500-7,700 1,675-2,345 WY 4,400-6,800 1,340-2,070 SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : Facultative Seral Species Bull thistle was present in New Jersey fields that had been abandoned 2, 5, 10, and 40 years [2]. In northwestern Montana, it was present in all 7- to 16-year-old clearcuts studied, though it always provided less than 1 percent coverage. It was not present in uncut stands [1]. Bull thistle cannot withstand deep shade, and is nearly absent if light is reduced to less than 40 percent of full sunlight [18]. SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : Bull thistle seeds generally germinate in the spring and fall. The rosette grows until winter, partly dies back, and begins to grow again in early spring. Age at bolting is controlled by plant size. Bull thistle is usually a biennial, but can be a winter annual. Under low-fertility conditions, bolting may be delayed several years. Almost all plants require vernalization to bolt. After flowering and seed production the plant dies [12,13,18]. Bull thistle flowering times have been reported for some states and areas [3,5,12,23]: Begin Peak End Flowering Flowering Flowering CA June October CO July August September KS June October MT July July July ND July August September UT June August October WY August August September Great Plains June October

FIRE ECOLOGY

SPECIES: Cirsium vulgare | Bull Thistle
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : Bull thistle seeds are wind dispersed and are easily transported from off-site sources [18]. Seeds are often part of the seedbank, even when plants are not present at the site. Germination is promoted by removal of vegetation cover [23]. However, the seeds are short lived. In the Netherlands, only 1.6 percent of ungerminated seeds were viable 1 year after dispersal [18]. Partially burned bull thistle plants may sprout from remaining stems [23]. POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community) Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)

FIRE EFFECTS

SPECIES: Cirsium vulgare | Bull Thistle
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : Fire kills bull thistle if aboveground portions of the plant are completely consumed. However, if 8 inches or more of stem remains unkilled, bull thistle may sprout from tremaining portions of the stem. It does not sprout from the root crown or root [18,23]. DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : NO-ENTRY PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : When bull thistle is killed by fire, the population must establish from seeds, which germinate any time conditions are favorable [18]. After a spring low-severity prescribed fire on a clearcut site in a western larch (Larix occidentalis) forest in western Montanta, bull thistle was one of the first off-site colonizers. It persisted in the community for only a few years [26]. After a mountain beech (Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides) forest fire in New Zealand, bull thistle was a dominant species during the fourth year after the fire on three of the six sites. Six years after the fire it was no longer dominant [21]. DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : NO-ENTRY FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), a species closely related to bull thistle, was subjected to dormant-season low-intensity (1,004 kW/sq m) and moderate-intensity (4,465 kW/sq m) fires. Relative abundance of Canada thistle was reduced the following growing season, and relative abundance of native vegetation increased. This suggests that Cirsium spp. invasions may be slowed or contained by prescribed fire. Fire may be a useful management tool where the more usually recommended cultural and chemical treatments cannot be used [31]. In a clearcut in northeastern Oregon, residue treatment included broadcast burning. Bull thistle germinated and established on heavily burned spots [6]. Twenty years after clearcutting and high-intensity broadcast burning as residue treatment in cold, dry sites of the grand fir (Abies grandis)/wild ginger (Asarum caudatum) habitat type in northern Idaho, bull thistle was a dominant forb [11].

REFERENCES

SPECIES: Cirsium vulgare | Bull Thistle
REFERENCES : 1. Antos, Joseph A.; Shearer, Raymond C. 1980. Vegetation development on disturbed grand fir sites, Swan Valley, northwestern Montana. Res. Pap. INT-251. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 26 p. [7269] 2. Bard, Gily E. 1952. Secondary succession on the Piedmont of New Jersey. Ecological Monographs. 22(3): 195-215. [4777] 3. Bare, Janet E. 1979. Wildflowers and weeds of Kansas. Lawrence, KS: The Regents Press of Kansas. 509 p. [3801] 4. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. [434] 5. Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p. [806] 6. Edgerton, Paul J. 1987. Influence of ungulates on the development of the shrub understory of an upper slope mixed conifer forest. In: Provenza, Frederick D.; Flinders, Jerran T.; McArthur, E. Durant, compilers. Proceedings--symposium on plant-herbivore interactions; 1985 August 7-9; Snowbird, UT. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-222. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station: 162-167. [7411] 7. Elias, Thomas S.; Dykeman, Peter A. 1982. Field guide to North American edible wild plants. [Place of publication unknown]: Outdoor Life Books. 286 p. [21103] 8. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905] 9. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998] 10. Gourley, Mark; Vomocil, Marc; Newton, Michael. 1990. Forest weeding reduces the effect of deer-browsing on Douglas-fir. Forest Ecology and Management. 36: 177-185. [13064] 11. Green, Pat; Jensen, Mark. 1991. Plant succession within managed grand fir forests of northern Idaho. In: Harvey, Alan E.; Neuenschwander, Leon F., compilers. Proceedings--management and productivity of western-montane forest soils; 1990 April 10-12; Boise, ID. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-280. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station: 232-236. [15987] 12. Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. 1392 p. [1603] 13. Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur. 1973. Flora of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 730 p. [1168] 14. Hooven, Edward F. 1969. The influence of forest succession on populations of small animals in western Oregon. In: Black, Hugh C., ed. Wildlife and reforestation in the Pacific Northwest: Proceedings of a symposium; 1968 September 12-13; Corvallis, OR. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University, School of Forestry: 30-34. [7943] 15. Hulten, Eric. 1968. Flora of Alaska and neighboring territories. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. 1008 p. [13403] 16. Kartesz, John T.; Kartesz, Rosemarie. 1980. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. Volume II: The biota of North America. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press; in confederation with Anne H. Lindsey and C. Richie Bell, North Carolina Botanical Garden. 500 p. [6954] 17. Keating, Kimberly A.; Irby, Lynn R.; Kasworm, Wayne F. 1985. Mountain sheep winter food habits in the upper Yellowstone Valley. Journal of Wildlife Management. 49(1): 156-161. [15521] 18. Klinkhamer, Peter G. L.; DeJong, Tom J. 1993. Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Ten.: (Carduus lanceolatus L., Cirsium lanceolatum (L.) Scop., non Hill). Journal of Ecology. 81: 177-191. [20980] 19. Kramer, Neal B.; Johnson, Frederic D. 1987. Mature forest seed banks of three habitat types in central Idaho. Canadian Journal of Botany. 65: 1961-1966. [3961] 20. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384] 21. Ledgard, N. J.; Davis, M. R.; Platt, K. 1987. Reforestation after fire in Canterbury beech forests. What's New in Forest Research No. 149. Rotorua, New Zealand: Ministry of Forestry, Forestry Research Centre, Forest Research Institute. 4 p. [19486] 22. Mitich, Larry W. 1988. Thistles I: Cirsium and Carduus. Weed Technology. 2: 228-229. [5507] 23. Randall, John M. 1990. Establishment and control of bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare) in Yosemite Valley. In: Van Riper, Charles, III; Stohlgren, Thomas J.; Veirs, Stephen D., Jr.; Hillyer, Silvia Castillo, eds. Examples of resource inventory & monitoring in national parks of California: Proceedings, 3rd biennial conference on research in California's national parks; 1988 September 13-15; Davis, CA: Trans. and Proceedings Series No.8. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service: 177-193. [15199] 24. Randall, John M. 1991. Population dynamics and control of bull thistle, Cirsium vulgare, in Yosemite Valley. In: Center, Ted D.; Doren, Robert F.; Hofstetter, Ronald L.; Myers, Ronald L.; Whiteaker, Louis D, eds. Proceedings of the Symposium on Exotic Pest Plants; 1988 November 2 - November 4; Miami, FL. Tech. Rep. NPS/NREVER/NRTR-91/06. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service: 261-281. [17871] 25. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843] 26. Shearer, Raymond C.; Stickney, Peter F. 1991. Natural revegetation of burned and unburned clearcuts in western larch forests of northwest Montana. In: Nodvin, Stephen C.; Waldrop, Thomas A., eds. Fire and the environment: ecological and cultural perspectives: Proceedings of an international symposium; 1990 March 20-24; Knoxville, TN. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-69. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station: 66-74. [16635] 27. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p. [20090] 28. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 1971. Common weeds of the United States. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 463 p. [2378] 29. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982. National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names. SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573] 30. Whitson, Tom D., ed. 1987. Weeds and poisonous plants of Wyoming and Utah. Res. Rep. 116-USU. Laramie, WY: University of Wyoming, College of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service. 281 p. [2939] 31. Young, Richard P. 1986. Fire ecology and management in plant communities of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Portland, OR: Oregon State University. 169 p. Thesis. [3745] 32. Kearney, Thomas H.; Peebles, Robert H.; Howell, John Thomas; McClintock, Elizabeth. 1960. Arizona flora. 2d ed. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 1085 p. [6563]

Index

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