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Photographer: Mark Mittelstadt
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Family Asteraceae
Cirsium hillii (Canby) Fernald
Hill's thistle, hollow-rooted thistle, prairie thistle
Cirsium: derived from the Greek kirsion, "a kind of thistle;" also cirsos meaning "a swollen vein" for which thistle was once a remedy
hillii: for Ellsworth Jerome Hill (1833-1917)
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| Status: | Threatened |
| Plant: | erect, biennial/(perennial?), 1'-3' tall, spiny, sweet smelling forb with thick, hollow roots |
| Flower: | head 1 1/2"-2" wide with purple disk flowers; inflorescence usually solitary or a few heads; blooms June-Aug. |
| Fruit: | dry seed on fluffy, feathery-divided pappus |
| Leaf: | basal leaves often edged with red and in a large, persistent rosette |
| Habitat: | sun; prairies; in sandy soil |
| (Glossary) |
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