Brewer’s thistle

Cnicus breweri A. Gray, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 10: 43. 1874; Cirsium breweri (A. Gray) Jepson; C. douglasii var. canescens (Petrak) J. T. Howell

Plants to 250 cm. Cauline leaves usually unlobed or shallowly lobed, spines usually less than 2–7 mm. Heads mostly 2–3 cm. 2n = 30.

Flowering summer (Jun–Aug). Wet soil, streams, fens, marshes, springs in montane coniferous forest areas, often on serpentine; 1200–1900 m; Calif., Nev., Oreg.

Variety breweri grows from the eastern North Coast Ranges of California and the Klamath and Siskiyou ranges east to the northen Sierra Nevada.