Cirsium wheeleri

Cirsium wheeleri is a North American species of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. Common names include Wheeler's thistle. It is native to northern Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora) and the southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada).^[2][3]

Cirsium wheeleri
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Cirsium
Species:	C. wheeleri
Binomial name
Cirsium wheeleri (A.Gray) Petr.
Synonyms[1]
Carduus perennans Greene Carduus wheeleri (A.Gray) A.Heller Cirsium blumeri Petr. Cirsium perennans (Greene) Wooton & Standl. Cnicus wheeleri A.Gray

Cirsium wheeleri is a perennial herb up to 60 cm (2 feet) tall with a large taproots. Leaves have slender spines. There are one or more flower heads, each with white, pink, or pale purple disc florets but no ray florets. The plant grows in mountain meadows and open conifer forests.^[2]