Carduus is a genus of about 90 species of thistle

Thistle

Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles often occur all over the plant – on surfaces such as those of the stem and flat parts of leaves. These are an adaptation that protects the...

s in the family Asteraceae

Asteraceae

The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...

, native to Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 and Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. Carduus is Latin for a thistle.

Carduus thistles are used as food plants by the caterpillar

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

s of some Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...

 species, including the Thistle Ermine (Myelois circumvoluta) and the case-bearer Coleophora therinella

Coleophora therinella

Coleophora therinella is a moth of the Coleophoridae family. It is found in most of Europe, Russia, central Asia and Japan. It occurs in steppe biotopes and in anthropogenic areas.The wingspan is 13-16 mm. Adults are on wing from July to August....

.

Selected species

• Carduus acanthoides
  Carduus acanthoides
  Carduus acanthoides is a species of thistle known as the spiny plumeless thistle and welted thistle. This plant is native to Europe but is well-known in many other parts of the world, including parts of North and South America, New Zealand, and Australia, as a noxious weed. This thistle may exceed...
  
  (Plumeless Thistle)
• Carduus benedictus (Blessed Thistle) - a synonym for Centaurea benedicta
• Carduus chamaecephalus African species
• Carduus crispus
  Carduus crispus
  Carduus crispus or Welted thistle is a member of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is a favorite foodplant of caterpillars of the Painted Lady , which derives its specific epithet, cardui, from their preference for thistles...
  
  (Curly Plumeless Thistle)
• Carduus defloratus (Alpine Thistle)
• Carduus keniensis is a giant rosette thistle endemic to alpine Mount Elgon
  Mount Elgon
  Mount Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya, north of Kisumu and west of Kitale.- Physical features :It is the oldest and largest solitary volcano in East Africa, covering an area of around 3500 km²....
  
  , Mount Kenya
  Mount Kenya
  Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian , Nelion and Point Lenana . Mount Kenya is located in central Kenya, just south of the equator, around north-northeast of the capital Nairobi...
  
  , the Aberdares
  Aberdare Range
  The Aberdare Range is a 160 km long mountain range of upland, north of Kenya's capital Nairobi with an average elevation of . It is located in west central Kenya, northeast of Naivasha and Gilgil and just south of the Equator...
  
  , and Kilimanjaro.
• Carduus nutans
  Musk thistle
  The Musk thistle or Nodding thistle is a member of the sunflower family Asteraceae. It is a biennial herb with showy red-purple flowers and sharply spiny stems and leaves...
  
  (Musk Thistle or Nodding Thistle)
• Carduus personata (Great Marsh Thistle)
• Carduus platyphyllus is a flat rosette species endemic to alpine Mount Kenya, where it occasionally hybridizes with C. keniensis.
• Carduus pycnocephalus
  Carduus pycnocephalus
  Carduus pycnocephalus is a species of thistle native to the Mediterranean region of Europe and Asia which has become a noxious weed in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South America, and North America, especially in California, where it is a C-listed weed by...
  
  (Italian Plumeless Thistle)
• Carduus schimperi (may include C. platyphyllus and C. chamaecephalus)
• Carduus tenuiflorus
  Carduus tenuiflorus
  Carduus tenuiflorus is a species of thistle known as the winged thistle or slender-flowered thistle. It is native to Europe and North Africa but is well-known on other continents where it is an introduced species and noxious weed. This thistle may exceed two meters in height...
  
  (Slender Thistle)

Hybrids

• Carduus × orthocephalus
• Carduus keniensis x C. platyphyllus

Chardonnay

Cardonnacum, derived from carduus, is Latin for a place with thistles. This is believed to be the origin for the name of the Burgundy village of Chardonnay, Saône-et-Loire

Chardonnay, Saône-et-Loire

Chardonnay is the commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France.The name is a derivative of Cardonnacum, a Latin term to denote the land of Cardus, the owner of the land surrounding this village during the end of the Roman period. It is also the definition...

, which in turn is thought to be the home of the famous Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

grape variety.