Cirsium quercetorum

(A. Gray) Jepson

Fl. W. Calif., 507. 1901.

Common names: Brownie or Alameda County thistle
Endemic
Basionym: Cnicus quercetorum A. Gray Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 10: 40. 1874
Synonyms: Cirsium quercetorum var. walkerianum (Petrak) Jepson Cirsium quercetorum var. xerolepis Petrak Cirsium walkerianum
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 19. Treatment on page 160. Mentioned on page 101, 106, 107, 131, 141.

Perennials, subacaulescent and forming compact, rounded mounds, 5–20 cm, or ± erect and to 70 (–90) cm; runner roots producing adventitious-buds. Stems 1–10+, erect or ascending, glabrous to thinly gray-tomentose, sometimes villous with septate trichomes; branches 0 or few, ascending. Leaves: blades elliptic to obovate, 5–20 × 3–7 cm, strongly undulate, shallowly to deeply pinnatifid with 3–8 pairs of lobes, lobes linear-lanceolate to broadly triangular, (often longer than 2 cm), closely spaced, spreading, spinose-dentate or lobed, main spines slender to stout, 2–15 mm, abaxial faces thinly to densely tomentose, ± villous with septate trichomes along veins, glabrescent or trichomes persistent, adaxial thinly arachnoid-tomentose and soon glabrescent; basal usually present at flowering, petiolate; principal cauline petiolate, progressively reduced distally, bases sometimes decurrent as spiny wings to 1 cm; distal reduced, similar to proximal. Heads 1–few, erect, ± crowded, often closely subtended by distalmost leaves. Peduncles 0–10 cm, leafy-bracted. Involucres ovoid to hemispheric or broadly campanulate, 2.5–5 (in first-formed heads, often smaller in later heads) × 2.5–6 cm, loosely arachnoid on phyllary margins or glabrate. Phyllaries in 5–10 series, imbricate, ovate or lanceolate (outer) to linear-lanceolate (inner), margins of outer entire, abaxial faces without glutinous ridge; outer and mid appressed, spines erect or ascending, (0–) 1–2 (–10) mm; apices of mid and inner narrowed and scabrido-denticulate or with expanded, spinuloso-serrate or dentate tips, spineless or spine-tipped. Corollas white or pale lavender to purple, 25–35 mm, tubes 10–20 mm, throats 7–10 mm, lobes 5–8 mm; style tips 2.5–4.5 mm. Cypselae brown, 5–6.5 mm, apical collars colored like body; pappi 20–40 mm. 2n = 32.


Phenology: Flowering spring–summer (Apr–Aug).
Habitat: Usually dry sites, coastal bluffs, grasslands, oak woodlands, coastal scrub
Elevation: 0–400 m

Discussion

Cirsium quercetorum occurs in the north and south Coast ranges of California from Mendocino to San Luis Obispo counties. It overlaps in range and habitat with several other thistle species and has been reported to hybridize with C. andrewsii, C. douglasii, C. occidentale, C. remotifolium var. odontolepis, and C. fontinale var. fontinale (F. Petrak 1917; J. T. Howell 1960b). Considerable variation occurs within the range of C. quercetorum, and two of the variants have been given taxonomic recognition as vars. walkerianum and xerolepis. Additional study over the range of the species is needed to determine whether these or other variants should be recognized formally.

Cirsium quercetorum appears to be related to the polymorphic C. scariosum complex. The perennial habit with runner roots of C. quercetorum consistently distinguishes it from the monocarpic C. scariosum.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"fine" is not a number.

... more about "Cirsium quercetorum"
glabrescent +, villous +  and tomentose +
glabrescent +  and arachnoid-tomentose +
short-tailed +
spineless +  and twisted +
dentate +, entire +  and spine-tipped +
erect +  and spreading +
innermost +
rounded;acute +
scarious +
corymbiform +, paniculiform +, subcapitate +, spiciform +  and racemiform +
indeterminate +  and determinate +
David J. Keil +
(A. Gray) Jepson +
decurrent +
Cnicus quercetorum +
compound +  and simple +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br />) +
strongly undulate;shallowly deeply pinnatifid +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br />) +
10-nerved or 20-nerved +  and rugose +
tawny +  and white +
Brownie or Alameda County thistle +
actinomorphic +
pale lavender +  and purple +
2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br /> (3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br />) +
compressed +  and ovoid +
fertile +  and bisexual +
0–400 m +
gray-canescent +  and glabrous +
pistillate +, staminate +  and neuter +
winged +  and beaked +
dispersed +
Usually dry sites, coastal bluffs, grasslands, oak woodlands, coastal scrub +
indeterminate +
each +  and sessile +
2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
glabrate +  and arachnoid +
ovoid;hemispheric or broadly campanulate +
2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br /> (6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br />) +
sessile +  and petiolate +
cauline +  and basal +
bristle-tipped +
lobed +, spinose-dentate +, linear-lanceolate +  and broadly triangular +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
usually lobed +  and dissected +
rounded +
2-carpellate +
persistent +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br />) +
Flowering spring–summer (Apr–Aug). +
middle +  and outer +
weakly to strongly +
papillate +  and smooth +
Fl. W. Calif., +
bearing subulate enations +, hairy +  and bristly +
flat;convex +
glutinous +
tawny;white +
setiform +  and plumose +
exalbuminous +
subequal +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
ascending +  and erect +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
spiny-winged +, simple +  and branched +
ascending +  and erect +
villous +, glabrous +  and thinly gray-tomentose +
1 +  and 10 +
appendaged +  and truncate +
dilated +  and swollen +
enlarged +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.45 cm4.5 mm <br />0.0045 m <br />) +
Cirsium quercetorum var. walkerianum +, Cirsium quercetorum var. xerolepis +  and Cirsium walkerianum +
Cirsium quercetorum +
species +
cylindric +
expanded +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
spine-tipped +  and spineless +
dentate +  and spinuloso-serrate +
scabrido-denticulate +  and narrowed +
expanded +
bristly-dentate to coarsely +
slender +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
70 cm700 mm <br />0.7 m <br /> (90 cm900 mm <br />0.9 m <br />) +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (70 cm700 mm <br />0.7 m <br />) +
tree +, vine +, shrub +  and subshrub +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +