Single Record

Participant Info

Species
Cirsium vulgare
Family
Asteraceae
CommonName
bull thistle
Presence
YES
Status
exotic, noxious
EarliestDate
1983
LatestDate
2015
Ecosystem
foothill, ruderal
Geobotanical
SSanjuans, NCristos
Counties
Conejos, Mineral, Saguache, Archuleta
Passes
Medano
WildlifePreserves
La Jara
Other Localities
Comments
Strangely, in the Watershed there are only a few records of bull thistle. These come from both sides of the Valley: for instance, from Crestone campground (Saguache Co, 1983), La Jara Reservoir (Conejos Co, 1997), and along the Conejos River (2015). Cirsium vulgare, however, has been recorded from the majority of counties in Colorado. It is present in all states of the USA, indeed, from nearly every county west of the Great Plains. But it follows the Rio Grande drainage through New Mexico and no farther. It is one of the only two exotic thistles in the Watershed (the other is C. arvense), and is on Colorado's B list of "noxious weeds."