CIRSIUM IN NORTH DAKOTA 301 
CIRSIUM IN NORTH DAKOTA. 
BY.) LUNELE. 
1. CIRSIUM NEBRASKENSE. 
Carduus nebraskensis Britton, in Britton and Brown, III. 
‘Flora III., p. 487 (1898). 
Cirstum nebraskense Lunell. 
This species is found occasionally mixed with the following 
variety in meadows and pastures, and in its natural, undisturbed 
growth it reaches the same size as the latter. Like the latter 
it has the pappus-bristles of the outer flowers barbellate, and of 
the inner p:umose. Its involucres are glutinous. It can be pro- 
duced pathologically from the following by cutting or otherwise 
injuring the stem, and the parts growing out afterwards above 
the injury have entire or slightly toothed leaves. 
2. Cirstum nebraskense var. discissum var. nov. 
Folia lanceolato-oblonga vel lanceolata, lobis dentatis tri- 
angularibus oblongis vel lanceolatis profundis magis minusve 
spinosis vestita. Involucra et seti papposi speciei consimiles. 
Leaves lanceolate-oblong or lanceolate with dentate tri- 
angular, oblong or lanceolate, deep lobes, more or less prickly. 
Involucres and pappus-bristles as in the species. 
This is the most common thistle in the state, and has been 
identified under various different names. The state institutions 
have agreed about Cnicus undulatus as the correct name, as has 
been repeatedly shown in their bulletins of earlier and later dates. 
An exalted eastern institution of learning has called it Cnicus 
altissimus filipendulus (in common with the species), and this 
identification stimulated me to spend many hours on physical 
exercise of changing the original position of bushels of dirt, for 
the futile purpose of unearthing its tubers, which were nothing 
but imaginary quantities as far as this thistle is concerned. I 
have myself been used to recognize it as Carduus Flodmannii 
Rydb., which suggestion was accepted by Dr. F. Petrak when the 
North Dakota plant of my collection was incorporated with his 
Cirsiotheca universa I1., no. 19 (1911) as Cirsium Flodmannii 
Petrak. But Dr. Rydberg’s species has its pappus-bristles plumose 
(vide Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden I, p. 451 (1900), 
