Cirsium carolinianum is a North American species of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. Common name is Carolina thistle or purple thistle or soft thistle or smallhead thistle. The species is native to the central and southern United States, from eastern Texas east to Virginia and the Carolinas, north to the Ohio Valley.Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
Cirsium carolinianum is a biennial herb up to 180 cm (6 feet) tall, with a relatively short taproot. Leaves have small, thin spines along the edge, much smaller than those of related species. There are usually several flower heads, with pinkish-purple (rarely white) disc florets but no ray florets.Flora of North America, Carolina or purple or soft or smallhead thistle, Cirsium carolinianum (Walter) Fernald & B. G. Schubert. Flowers bloom April to July. Its habitats include wooded areas, fields, and roadsides.
References
External links photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Missouri