Black Thistle vs Castor

Cirsium vulgare compared with Ricinus communis

Key Differences

• Black Thistle is Least Concern while Castor is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black Thistle	Castor
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)
Family	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Euphorbiaceae
Genus	Cirsium	Ricinus
Species	Cirsium vulgare	Ricinus communis

Evolutionary Relationship

Black Thistle and Castor share a common ancestor at the Class level: Magnoliopsida. (Dicots)

Conservation Status

Black Thistle

LC — Least Concern

Castor

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

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).

Castor

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (33 countries), Asia (26 countries), Europe (23 countries), North America (15 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (14 countries), and South America (12 countries).

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.

Castor

The Castor (Ricinus communis) is a species in the genus Ricinus. Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and hi

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 29 countries:

🇦🇷 Argentina 🇦🇺 Australia 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇴 Bolivia 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇨🇱 Chile 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇨🇷 Costa Rica 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇪🇹 Ethiopia 🇫🇷 France 🇮🇱 Israel 🇯🇵 Japan 🇱🇸 Lesotho 🇲🇽 Mexico 🇳🇿 New Zealand 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇪 Peru 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇺🇬 Uganda 🇺🇸 United States