Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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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 :
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Index
Related categories for Species: Cirsium vulgare | Bull Thistle
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