Thistle - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

Genera in the Asteraceae with the word thistle often used in their common names include:

• Carduus – musk thistle and others
• Carlina – carline thistle
• Carthamus - distaff thistle
• Centaurea – star thistle
• Cicerbita – sow thistle
• Cirsium – common thistle, field thistle and others
• Cnicus – blessed thistle
• Cynara – artichoke, cardoon
• Echinops – globe thistle
• Notobasis – Syrian thistle
• Onopordum – cotton thistle, also known as Scots or Scotch thistle
• Scolymus – golden thistle or oyster thistle
• Silybum – milk thistle
• Sonchus – sow thistle

Plants in families other than Asteraceae which are sometimes called thistle include:

• Kali – Russian thistle, Tartar thistle, or tumbleweed, plants formerly classified in the genus Salsola (family Chenopodiaceae)