Recovery Strategies

Recovery Strategy for Pitcher's Thistle (Cirsium pitcheri) in Canada

Pitcher's Thistle is a whitish-green perennial plant with leaves that are finely divided into narrow segments and spineless except at the tips. The plants live as a ring of basal leaves (a "rosette") for several years before forming an upright flowering stalk and thistle head of pale, pinkish-white flowers. After flowering and setting seed, the plants die. In Canada Pitcher's Thistle is only found on dunes and beach ridges on the shores of Lake Huron and Lake Superior. Optimal habitat is open, dry, loose sand with little other vegetation. The habitat is dynamic due to sand movement caused by wind, water, and ice actions. There is a balance between the processes that keep sand open and loose, and succession, the natural process that causes a gradual increase in vegetation.

Consultation period: 2010-11-15 to 2011-01-14

File(s)

• HTML version of "Recovery Strategy for Pitcher's Thistle (Cirsium pitcheri) in Canada [Final Version]"
• "Recovery Strategy for Pitcher's Thistle (Cirsium pitcheri) in Canada [Final Version]" (2011-03-31) (PDF format, 4,004.05 KB)

• HTML version of "Recovery Strategy for Pitcher's Thistle (Cirsium pitcheri) in Canada [Proposed]"
• "Recovery Strategy for Pitcher's Thistle (Cirsium pitcheri) in Canada [Proposed]" (2010-11-15) (PDF format, 3,935.34 KB)

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Contact Person(s)

Gary Allen
Species Conservation Specialist
Species Conservation and Management, Natural Resource Conservation
Parks Canada Agency
1800 Walkley Road
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0M5
Tel: 613-993-2125
Fax: 613-993-9796
Send e-mail

Related Species

• Pitcher's Thistle

Links

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