Cirsium foliosum

Cirsium foliosum , also called leafy thistle, foliose thistle, elk thistle, or Evert's thistle,[2] is a North American species of plants in the thistle tribe within the sunflower family. The species is native to Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Alberta, British Columbia, and Wyoming.[3]

Cirsium foliosum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Cirsium
Species:	C. foliosum
Binomial name
Cirsium foliosum (Hook.) DC.
Synonyms[1]
Carduus foliosus Hook. Cnicus foliosus A.Gray

Cirsium foliosum is a biennial or perennial herb up to 70 cm (28 inches) tall, blooming only once before dying. Leaves have thin spines along the edges. There is several flowering heads per plant, with white or pale pink disc florets but no ray florets.[4]

The roots and stems are edible raw or cooked. The stem, when split open and peeled, can be eaten like celery. Bears, deer and elk also like to eat the plant.[5]

References

1. "Cirsium foliosum". The Plant List. (Hook.) DC.
2. "Evert's or Elk Thistle". USDA Forest Service: Idaho Panhandle National Forests.
3. "Biota of North America Program, 2014 state-level distribution map". bonap.net.
4. "Flora of North America, Cirsium foliosum (Leafy or foliose or elk thistle)". efloras.org.
5. Reiner, Ralph E. (1969). Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies. Glacier Park, Inc. p. 104.

See also

• Truman C. Everts