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Project Noah Nature School
Cirsium arizonicum
This particular gorgeous thistle has deep pink to orangey with yellow to white tipped needle shaped petals. The flowers can never fully open due to the bract of the plant. It can grow up to 5 feet tall. The leaves and stems are gray/green and hairy! The leaves are simple, triangular, toothed, with alternate and basal attachment. They also have spines...ouch!
This flowering plant was spotted while I was hiking Thumb Butte in Prescott, AZ. Prescott's climate has four seasons and is semi-arid. This thistle can be found along roadsides, among chaparral and clearings in ponderosa pine forests; desert scrub, pinon/juniper woodlands. It has several different eco-communities--Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest, and Disturbed Areas. Elevations 3000 - 7000 feet.
Spotted on Jul 22, 2004
Submitted on Sep 29, 2012
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