Carduus crispus explained

Carduus crispus, the curly plumeless thistle or welted thistle, is a biennial herb in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is native to Eurasia and has been naturalized in North America and India.

Description

Carduus crispus has upright growth,[1] and individuals can grow up to 3m (10feet) tall, with the typical height being NaNcm (-2,147,483,648inches).[2] This species flowers from May and seeds ripen in July.[3] Its main form of seed dispersal is by wind.[4]

The leaves of this plant are simple, alternate and they start at the base of the pant. The leaves cannot be in leaflets, but they can vary between being lobed and unlobed. The blade edges of the leaves can either be toothed, have lobes, or have both.[5] The top of the leaves does not have a lot of hair, while the underside of the leaves has white hair. The size of the leaf blades varies from NaNcm (-2,147,483,648inches) in length, and the petioles are winged at the base of the leaves.[6]

Unlike most other members of Asteraceae, this plant does not have any ray-shaped flowers, only disk-shaped flowers, with the head width reaching NaNmm. The colours of the flowers can range from purple to pink and white. The flowers are hermaphrodite, as they have both male and female parts. The flowers are pollinated by insects such as bees.[7]

The type of fruit this species produces is called achenes, and they are yellow or slightly gray and brown in colour.[8] The round-shaped fruit is flattened, and attached to one end are long unbranched hairs that aid wind dispersal.

Etymology

The genus Carduus comes from the Latin language, and it means "a kind of thistle",[9] or "thistlelike plant".[10] The specific epithet, crispus, has a Latin origin meaning "curly" or "wavy".[11]

Distribution

Carduus crispus is native to Europe and Asia. Some of the countries in Asia include Armenia, China, and Hebei.[12] C. crispus is naturalized in Greenland, parts of the United States and Canada, and India[13]

Ecology

It needs a lot of sunlight, and therefore is not shade tolerant. The soil must be wet, and have the proper pH for the plant to grow and thrive. This species can also be called a noxious weed in North America, and can be found in areas such as pastures and along the sides of the road.[14]

The species and genus is a favorite food plant of caterpillars of the painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui), which derives its specific epithet, cardui, from their preference for Carduus thistles. It is also used by bees for honey production.

Uses

This plant has been found to have anti-tumour[15] properties, the active ingredient is Crispine B, an alkaloid that has cytotoxic properties, meaning that Crispine B is toxic enough to prevent cancer cells from replicating.[16]

The roots of C. crispus are said to have anodyne properties[17] [18] which are pain-killing properties that lessen the pain an organism is experiencing.

Invasive species

Carduus crispus is an introduced species in North America, and a noxious weed in several U.S. states, including West Virginia.[19]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: curly plumeless thistle - Encyclopedia of Life . 2022-12-18 . eol.org.
  2. Web site: Carduus crispus Kyläkarhiainen. 2024-07-13 . pfaf.org.
  3. Web site: Carduus crispus Welted Thistle, Curly plumeless thistle PFAF Plant Database . 2022-12-18 . pfaf.org.
  4. Web site: curly plumeless thistle, Carduus crispus Asterales: Asteraceae - EDDMapS . 2022-12-18 . EDDMapS.org.
  5. Web site: Carduus crispus (curly plumeless-thistle): Go Botany . 2022-12-18 . gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org.
  6. Web site: Welted thistle (Carduus crispus) . 2022-12-18 . WeedWise Program . en-US.
  7. Web site: Carduus crispus Welted Thistle, Curly plumeless thistle PFAF Plant Database . 2022-12-18 . pfaf.org.
  8. Web site: Curled Thistle, Carduus crispus - Flowers - NatureGate . 2022-12-18 . luontoportti.com.
  9. Web site: Carduus . 2022-12-18 . ucjeps.berkeley.edu.
  10. Web site: Carduus in Flora of North America @ efloras.org . 2022-12-18 . www.efloras.org.
  11. Web site: Etymology, origin and meaning of crisp by etymonline . 2022-12-18 . www.etymonline.com . en.
  12. 2022 . Carduus crispus (curly plumeless thistle) . CABI Compendium . en . 10.1079/cabicompendium.112968 . 253656946 . free.
  13. Web site: Plants of the World Online . Carduus crispus L. . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . 5 August 2024 .
  14. Web site: Carduus crispus (curly plumeless-thistle): Go Botany . 2022-12-18 . gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org.
  15. Zhang . Qingying . Tu . Guangzhong . Zhao . Yuying . Cheng . Tieming . 2002-08-01 . Novel bioactive isoquinoline alkaloids from Carduus crispus . Tetrahedron . en . 58 . 34 . 6795–6798 . 10.1016/S0040-4020(02)00792-5 . 0040-4020.
  16. Agarwal . Lokesh Kumar . Gopi . Priyanka . Pandya . Prateek . Gupta . Neelima . 2022-08-20 . Computational insight to structural aspects of Crispine-DNA binding . Structural Chemistry . 34 . 3 . 837–848 . en . 10.1007/s11224-022-02034-7 . 251672731 . 1040-0400.
  17. Book: Stuart . G. A. . Chinese materia medica . Smith . F. Porter . 1911 . Presbyterian Mission Press? . 978-0-87968-469-3 . Shanghai? . 10.5962/bhl.title.25114.
  18. Duke . J.A. . 1987 . Medicinal Plants of China. 2 Vols. 705 S., 1300 Strichzeichnungen. Reference Publ., Inc. Algonac. Michigan, 1985. 0-917266-20-4. Preis: geb. m. Schutzumschlag $94,95 . Feddes Repertorium . en . 98 . 7–8 . 398 . 10.1002/fedr.19870980707 . 0014-8962.
  19. http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CACR2 USDA