marsh thistle vs Melancholy Thistle

Cirsium palustre compared with Cirsium heterophyllum

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	marsh 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 palustre	Cirsium heterophyllum

Evolutionary Relationship

marsh thistle and Melancholy Thistle share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Cirsium.

Conservation Status

marsh thistle

LC — Least Concern

Melancholy Thistle

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	marsh thistle	Melancholy Thistle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

marsh thistle

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (8 countries), North America (Canada, United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand).

Melancholy Thistle

Habitat

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

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries).

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 6 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden