ASTERACEAE - - Aster Family

Cirsium carolinianum (Walter) Fernald & Schubert — Carolina Thistle, Spring Thistle

Habitat:

Prairies, open woodlands over mafic, ultramafic, or calcareous rocks. In our area, C. carolinianum seems to be restricted to prairies and woodlands (or maintained powerline or road rights-of-way) over circumneutral rocks and soils, in situations which were oak savannas or even prairies prior to fire suppression.

Habitat information from:
Weakley, Alan S., Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, Working Draft of 21 May 2015.

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].