Carthamus lanatus L., Asteraceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Carthamus baeticus (Boiss. & Reut.) Nyman; Carthamus creticus L.; Carthamus lanatus subsp. baeticus (Boiss. & Reut.) Maire; Carthamus turkestanicus Popov; Kentrophyllum baeticum Boiss. & Reut.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: distaff thistle, downy safflower, saffron thistle, smooth distaff thistle, woolly distaff thistle, woolly safflower, woolly star thistle

Spanish: cardilla

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Plants 40-180 cm, herbage ± densely glandular, loosely cobwebby to ± woolly. Stems rigidly erect, openly branched distally, stramineous. Leaves basal and cauline; basal often absent at anthesis, petioles winged, blades 10-15 cm, margins pinnately 1-2-divided into linear or lanceolate spine-tipped lobes; cauline spreading or recurved, lanceolate to ovate, rigid, clasping, 3-7-veined from base, margins with narrow spine-tipped lobes, spinose-acuminate. Involucres ovoid, body 25-35 mm, usually ± tomentose. Outer phyllaries ascending or ± spreading, 35-50 mm, usually not more than 1.5 times as long as inner, terminal appendages spreading to ascending, linear-lanceolate, spiny lobed, prominently spine-tipped. Corollas yellow, sometimes red- or black-veined, 25-35 mm, throats gradually expanded; anthers yellow; pollen yellow. Cypselae brown, 4-6 mm, the outer roughened; pappus scales 1-13 mm"  (Flora of North America online).

Description from Flora of New Zealand.

Habitat/ecology:  In North America, "Roadsides, grain fields, pastures; 0-1100 m.  A viciously spiny noxious weed, sometimes forming nearly impenetrable stands. In rangelands it is known to injure the eyes and mouths of livestock, and it tends to spread when more palatable plants are consumed"  (Flora of North America online).  In New Zealand, "pasture, roadsides, waste land, arable land, river flats, fowl runs, railway ballast"  (Webb et al., 1988; p. 302).  In Australia, "weed in pasture and woodland, mostly growing in cultivated crops"  (NSW PlantNET).  "In Chile this species grows in the following environmental conditions:  Medium altitude up to the timber line; low altitude, interior valleys. Dry, arid areas, with long drought periods of 6-10 months, precipitations of 100 mm-300 mm. are concentrated in winter. Fully exposed to the sun, level areas or slopes facing north  (Chileflora).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Europe, Egypt, Turkey; widely naturalized (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 552)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 552)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	New South Wales	introduced invasive	National Herbarium of New South Wales (2011)
Australia Australia (continental)	Northern Territory	introduced invasive	National Herbarium of New South Wales (2011)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	National Herbarium of New South Wales (2011)
Canada Province of British Columbia	Canada (British Columbia)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Belov, Michail (2011)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 189)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 302)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Oregon)	introduced	Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced	Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. (2011)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. (2011) Ariz., Mass., N.J., Okla., Tex.

Control: 

Biological:  "Because of the close relationship between the cultivated safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) and its weedy relatives, biocontrol has not been an option for controlling weedy species such as C. lanatus"  (Flora of North America online).

Additional information:
"Ecology and management of saffron thistle (Carthamus lanatus L.) in New South Wales pastures" (PDF document)
Photos and other information from Chileflora.
Fact sheet from the National Weeds Strategy, Australia.

Additional online information about Carthamus lanatus is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Carthamus lanatus as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Carthamus lanatus may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Belov, Michail. 2011. Chileflora (online resource).

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 2011. Flora of North America North of Mexico (online edition).

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

National Herbarium of New South Wales. 2011. PlantNet: New South Wales Flora online. The Plant Information Network System of the Botanic Gardens Trust Version 2.0. Online resource.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.