Carduus nutans is a biennial plant in the daisy and sunflower family Asteraceae with the common names musk thistle, [1] nodding thistle, and nodding plumeless thistle. It is native to regions of Europe, Central Asia, and North Africa, where it is a scattered pasture plant.

In North American literature, the scientific name Carduus nutans L., commonly known as musk thistle, has been applied to an aggregate of large-flowered plumeless thistles in the aster (Asteraceae) family .

Encycloweedia: Data Sheet - Carduus genus California Department of Food and Agriculture. See also: Included on California's noxious weed list; see Encycloweedia: Program Details for additional resources

Carduus nutans is an herbaceous, biennial plant that grows to 6 ft. (1.8 m) tall. The stem has very spiny wings. Carduus species may hybridize with each other. Leaves are green and lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate. They are often pinnatifid and are very prickly. Leaves are usually sessile to slightly clasping.

Carduus nutans (musk thistle) is a biennial or winter annual (family Asteraceae) found in disturbed open sites, roadsides, pastures, annual grasslands, and waste areas, but is mostly limited to the Klamath and Cascade Ranges, northern Sierra Nevada, and Modoc Plateau in California. Previous populations in southern California were eradicated.

Description: This herbaceous plant is either a biennial or summer annual (usually the former). It consists initially of a rosette of basal leaves. These basal leaves are 4-12" long and 1¼-4" across; they are lanceolate-pinnatifid or elliptic-pinnatifid with occasional secondary lobes.

Nodding plumeless-thistle is among the most serious weeds in North America. It is unpalatable to livestock and may form dense stands in pastures. It prefers disturbed sites in a variety of habitats. A single terminal head produces as many as 1200 seeds.

Musk thistle is a biennial thistle that is a rosette of leaves in its first year and sends up a flowering stalk in its second year, then dies. Musk thistle is also sometimes called "nodding thistle" because the flower heads can droop to a 90 degree angle instead of facing toward the sky.

Nov 16, 2021 · This datasheet on Carduus nutans covers Identity, Overview, Distribution, Dispersal, Hosts/Species Affected, Diagnosis, Biology & Ecology, Environmental Requirements, Natural Enemies, Impacts, Uses, Prevention/Control, Further Information.

Carduus nutans is a perennial herb that is not native to California. More … [USDA FEIS] Origins and Introduction: Musk thistle is native to western and central Europe, northwards to Scotland and extending to Sicilia, central Yugoslavia, and Ukraine, …