About Cirsium eatonii (A.Gray) B.L.Rob.
Cirsium eatonii (A.Gray) B.L.Rob. is a highly variable species of erect herb. Some populations grow up to 150 cm (5 feet / 60 inches) tall. All of its foliage is more or less spiny. A single plant produces several flower heads, with flowers that range in color from pink to purple, or may be yellow. This species grows at high elevations in habitats including grasslands, sagebrush steppes, and open savannahs. A number of varieties of Cirsium eatonii have been identified. These varieties are: Cirsium eatonii var. clokeyi, common names Clokey thistle, Spring Mountains thistle, and white-spine thistle, which is a rare, uncommon variety found in Nevada; Cirsium eatonii var. eatonii, found in Nevada and Utah; Cirsium eatonii var. eriocephalum, common names alpine thistle and mountain thistle, found in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah; Cirsium eatonii var. hesperium, common name tall mountain thistle, found in Colorado; Cirsium eatonii var. murdockii, common name northern mountain thistle, found in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming; Cirsium eatonii var. peckii, common names ghost thistle and Steens Mountain thistle, found in Nevada and Oregon; and Cirsium eatonii var. viperinum, common name Snake Range thistle, found in Nevada.
