Black Bent vs Black Thistle

Agrostis gigantea compared with Cirsium vulgare

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black Bent	Black Thistle
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Poales (Grasses)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family	Poaceae (Grass Family)	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus	Agrostis	Cirsium
Species	Agrostis gigantea	Cirsium vulgare

Evolutionary Relationship

Black Bent and Black Thistle share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Magnoliophyta. (Flowering Plants)

Conservation Status

Black Bent

LC — Least Concern

Black Thistle

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black Bent	Black Thistle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black Bent

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests within the Neotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Japan), Europe (11 countries), North America (4 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (5 countries).

Black Thistle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 5 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Neotropic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (8 countries), Asia (Israel, Japan, Taiwan), Europe (12 countries), North America (5 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand), and South America (7 countries).

Black Bent

The Black Bent (Agrostis gigantea) is a species in the genus Agrostis. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests within the Neotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Black Thistle

The Black Thistle (Cirsium vulgare) is a species in the genus Cirsium. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 5 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic an, found across Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, and more.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 19 countries:

🇦🇷 Argentina 🇦🇺 Australia 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇨🇦 Canada 🇨🇱 Chile 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇨🇷 Costa Rica 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇯🇵 Japan 🇲🇽 Mexico 🇳🇴 Norway 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States