Cirsium wrightii, or Wright's marsh thistle, is an endangered species of North American plants in the family Asteraceae. It is a monocarpicperennial sometimes reaching as much as 300 cm (10 feet) in height.
Wright's marsh thistle is known to be found at the present time in only 7 counties in South-Central New Mexico.[4] It has also, however, known to have existed in the past in Sonora, Chihuahua, Texas and Arizona.[5] There are many hypothesis over what caused the shrinkage of the species, of which one is drought. Since these are wetland plants, a decrease in water has detrimental effects on their survival.[6]
Habitat and ecology
Since it is a wetland residing plant, this species prefers moist environments, such as mountain slopes, forests, and marshes on the edges of rivers and ponds. These plants are most commonly found in low-elevation wetlands in the barren desert, and occur often in alkaline soils. It is a monocarpic perennial (or a biennial), and flowers in its second year from August to October. This species is known to interact with Cirsium texanum and Cirsium vinaceum and some hybrids have even been spotted.[7]
Morphology
Wright's marsh thistle is most known for its extraordinary height of up to 300 cm (10 feet). It has a central stalk with leaves and various flowering branches up the stem. Wright's marsh thistle has prickly spines that protrude from the central stalk. It consists of a single stalk that is swathed with leaves. These stem leaves, along with the basal leaves, are both succulent. The basal leaves are prickly and can average about 30 cm in measurement. Many branches arise from the top of the stalk, of which the longest branches are the flowering ones. Each of the many branches has a flowering head at the end. The style tips are 3 mm long, and can be either white or pale pink.[5]
Conservation status
Cirsium wrightii, according to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, is considered to be a candidate for the endangered species list. Its listing priority is 8, therefore it continues to stay on the candidate list, considering there are other species that require more immediate attention because of higher listing priority.[8]
Based on a study done by the WildEarth Guardians Organization, Cirsium wrightii has a high chance of grappling with the risk of extinction due to some of the aforementioned threats. They filed a petition on October 9, 2008 for this species to be added to the Endangered Species Act.[6]
Causes of threat
There are a number of threats to this plant. Because it is a marshland plant, it needs ongoing and abundant access to water. Unfortunately, the environments that it resides in are susceptible to drought. Water availability is dependent on yearly percolation patterns.[8] Habitat loss is also a cause of threat, as it results in competition with new introduced and sometimes invasive species.
^Gray, Asa 1853. Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge 5(6): 101
^Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
^ abFlora of North America, Wright’s marsh thistle, Cirsium wrightii A. Gray
^ ab(PDF). Wil Earth's Guardians: 1–30. October 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-06. Retrieved 2014-05-06.
^"Cirsium wrightii". New Mexico Rare Plants Technical Council. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
^ ab"Bromus tectorum". Species Profile Wright's Marsh Thistle (Cirsium wrightii). U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
March 08, 2023
cirsium, wrightii, wright, marsh, thistle, endangered, species, north, american, plants, family, asteraceae, monocarpic, perennial, sometimes, reaching, much, feet, height, sketch, scientific, classificationkingdom, plantaeclade, tracheophytesclade, angiosperm. Cirsium wrightii or Wright s marsh thistle is an endangered species of North American plants in the family Asteraceae It is a monocarpic perennial sometimes reaching as much as 300 cm 10 feet in height Cirsium wrightiiSketch of Cirsium wrightiiScientific classificationKingdom PlantaeClade TracheophytesClade AngiospermsClade EudicotsClade AsteridsOrder AsteralesFamily AsteraceaeGenus CirsiumSpecies C wrightiiBinomial nameCirsium wrightiiA GraySynonyms 1 2 Carduus wrightii A Heller Cnicus wrightii A Gray A GrayThe species was originally collected in 1851 in Arizona by Charles Wright 3 Contents 1 Distribution 2 Habitat and ecology 3 Morphology 4 Conservation status 4 1 Causes of threat 5 ReferencesDistribution EditWright s marsh thistle is known to be found at the present time in only 7 counties in South Central New Mexico 4 It has also however known to have existed in the past in Sonora Chihuahua Texas and Arizona 5 There are many hypothesis over what caused the shrinkage of the species of which one is drought Since these are wetland plants a decrease in water has detrimental effects on their survival 6 Habitat and ecology EditSince it is a wetland residing plant this species prefers moist environments such as mountain slopes forests and marshes on the edges of rivers and ponds These plants are most commonly found in low elevation wetlands in the barren desert and occur often in alkaline soils It is a monocarpic perennial or a biennial and flowers in its second year from August to October This species is known to interact with Cirsium texanum and Cirsium vinaceum and some hybrids have even been spotted 7 Morphology EditWright s marsh thistle is most known for its extraordinary height of up to 300 cm 10 feet It has a central stalk with leaves and various flowering branches up the stem Wright s marsh thistle has prickly spines that protrude from the central stalk It consists of a single stalk that is swathed with leaves These stem leaves along with the basal leaves are both succulent The basal leaves are prickly and can average about 30 cm in measurement Many branches arise from the top of the stalk of which the longest branches are the flowering ones Each of the many branches has a flowering head at the end The style tips are 3 mm long and can be either white or pale pink 5 Conservation status EditCirsium wrightii according to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service is considered to be a candidate for the endangered species list Its listing priority is 8 therefore it continues to stay on the candidate list considering there are other species that require more immediate attention because of higher listing priority 8 Based on a study done by the WildEarth Guardians Organization Cirsium wrightii has a high chance of grappling with the risk of extinction due to some of the aforementioned threats They filed a petition on October 9 2008 for this species to be added to the Endangered Species Act 6 Causes of threat Edit There are a number of threats to this plant Because it is a marshland plant it needs ongoing and abundant access to water Unfortunately the environments that it resides in are susceptible to drought Water availability is dependent on yearly percolation patterns 8 Habitat loss is also a cause of threat as it results in competition with new introduced and sometimes invasive species References Edit The Plant List Cirsium wrightii A Gray Tropicos Cirsium wrightii A Gray Gray Asa 1853 Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge 5 6 101 Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map a b Flora of North America Wright s marsh thistle Cirsium wrightii A Gray a b Petition to List the Wright s Marsh Thistle Cirsium wrightii under the US Endangered Species Act PDF Wil Earth s Guardians 1 30 October 2008 Archived from the original PDF on 2014 05 06 Retrieved 2014 05 06 Cirsium wrightii New Mexico Rare Plants Technical Council Retrieved 3 May 2014 a b Bromus tectorum Species Profile Wright s Marsh Thistle Cirsium wrightii U S Fish amp Wildlife Service Retrieved 4 May 2014 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cirsium wrightii amp oldid 1131968294, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
