Cirsium creticum (Lam.) d’Urv. subsp. creticum

Posted byTrajche DimitrovskiPosted inCompositae, Plant families

Taxonomy: Fam. Compositae// Genus: Cirsium// Species: Cirsium creticum (Lam.) d’Urv.// Subspecies: Cirsium creticum (Lam.) d’Urv. subsp. creticum.

Determined according to the botanical key provided by Werner (1976 in Tutin et al.).

Lifeform: Perennial plant; hemicryptophyte according to the Raunkiær system.

Distribution: Native to North Africa- Libya, Italy and Souhteast Europe to Iran according to the distribution information provided by the Plants of the World Online portal (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew).

Habitat:  Wet habitats, found on the banks and near rivers and streams.

Recorded localities: Kochani – village of Beli, 12.09.2021; Gorge of Kochanska River, 02.10.2021.

Flowering period: Summer- autumn: AUG, SEP.

Locality: Gorge of the Kochanska River. Date: 02.10.2021.

Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – habit. Gorge of “Kochanska” River, 02.10.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – branch with capitula. Gorge of “Kochanska” River, 02.10.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – branch with capitula. Gorge of “Kochanska” River, 02.10.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – capitula. Gorge of “Kochanska” River, 02.10.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – flowering and fruiting capitula. Gorge of “Kochanska” River, 02.10.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – flowering and fruiting capitula. Gorge of “Kochanska” River, 02.10.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – fruiting capitula. Gorge of “Kochanska” River, 02.10.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – fruiting capitula. Gorge of “Kochanska” River, 02.10.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – upper cauline leaves. Gorge of “Kochanska” River, 02.10.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – winged stem and cauline leaves. Gorge of “Kochanska” River, 02.10.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – winged stem and cauline leaves. Gorge of “Kochanska” River, 02.10.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – leaf. Gorge of “Kochanska” River, 02.10.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – adaxial side of leaf. Gorge of “Kochanska” River, 02.10.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – adaxial side of leaf. Gorge of “Kochanska” River, 02.10.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – abaxial side of leaf. Gorge of “Kochanska” River, 02.10.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – leaf lobe. Gorge of “Kochanska” River, 02.10.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.

Locality: village of Beli region. Date: 12.09.2021.

Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – habit. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 12.09.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – habit. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 12.09.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – branch with capitula. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 12.09.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – flowering and fruiting capitula. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 12.09.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – capitula. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 12.09.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – capitula. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 12.09.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – capitula. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 12.09.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – stems with cauline leaves. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 12.09.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – plant base with basal rosettes that will produce flowering stems in the nex year. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 12.09.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – capitula. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 12.09.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – stem with cauline leaves. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 12.09.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – stem with cauline leaves. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 12.09.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – cauline leaf. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 12.09.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – seedling. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 12.09.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.

Locality: village of Beli region. Date: 21.09.2020.

Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – habit in habitat, growing alongside a stream near village of Beli, 21.09.2020. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – flowering branches with upper cauline leaves and capitula. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 21.09.2020. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – capitula. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 21.09.2020. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – fruiting capitula .Ruderal area near village of Beli, 21.09.2020. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – winged stem. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 21.09.2020. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – middle cauline leaves. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 21.09.2020. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – lower part of plant and new basal rosettes. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 21.09.2020. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum – basal leaves- young plant in basal rosette stage. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 21.09.2020. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.

References:

Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum. Plants of the World Online portal, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77179750-1 [Accessed 12.02.2022].

Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum. Greuter, W. 2006+: Compositae (pro parte majore). – In: Greuter, W. & Raab-Straube, E. von, Compositae. Euro+Med PlantBase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Published at https://europlusmed.org/. https://europlusmed.org/cdm_dataportal/taxon/506e5bd8-ae85-4dad-b6bd-5e9e6807da64 [Accessed 11.03.2026].

Werner, K. Cirsium Miller. In Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M. & Webb, D. A. (eds.), Flora Europaea. Volume 4. Plantaginaceae to Compositae (and Rubiaceae). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 232–242.

Last update: 11.03.2026.