Black Thistle vs melancholy thistle

Cirsium vulgare compared with Cirsium helenioides

Key Differences

• Black Thistle is Least Concern while melancholy thistle is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black Thistle	melancholy thistle
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order same	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family same	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus same	Cirsium	Cirsium
Species	Cirsium vulgare	Cirsium helenioides

Evolutionary Relationship

Black Thistle and melancholy thistle share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Cirsium.

Conservation Status

Black Thistle

LC — Least Concern

melancholy thistle

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black Thistle	melancholy thistle
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).

melancholy thistle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Iceland, Norway, Slovenia, and Sweden.

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 2 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden