Taxon Report

Cirsium andrewsii (Gray) Jeps.

Franciscan thistle

Print Report

Taxon Summary

Cirsium andrewsii, commonly known as Franciscan thistle, is a perennial herb in the Asteraceae that is found only in California. It occurs within Broadleafed upland forest, Coastal bluff scrub, Coastal prairie, and Coastal scrub, growing at elevations from 0 to 150 meters. Cirsium andrewsii is ranked 1B.2, Plants Rare, Threatened or Endangered in California and Elsewhere; Moderately threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Cirsium andrewsii (Gray) Jeps.
Common Name:	Franciscan thistle
Family:	Asteraceae
Element Code:	PDAST2E050
USDA Plants Symbol:	CIAN2
Synonyms/Other Names:

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	perennial herb
Blooming Period: Mar-Jul	Mar-Jul
Elevation:	0-150 (0-490)
General Habitats:	Broadleafed upland forest, Coastal bluff scrub, Coastal prairie, Coastal scrub
Microhabitat:	Mesic, Serpentine (sometimes)
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	1B.2
Global Rank:	G3
State Rank:	S3
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:	SB_CalBG/RSABG
CRPR Changes:

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	31
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	3
Good (B)	11
Fair (C)	3
Poor (D)	0
None (X)	3
Unknown (U)	11

Location


California Endemic: True
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Contra Costa (CCA), Marin (MRN), San Francisco (SFO), San Mateo (SMT), Sonoma (SON)(?)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Ano Nuevo (3712213), Bodega Head (3812331)(?), Briones Valley (3712282), Drakes Bay (3812218), Franklin Point (3712223)*, Inverness (3812217), Montara Mountain (3712254), Point Bonita (3712275), Point Reyes NE (3812227), San Francisco North (3712274), San Francisco South (3712264), Tomales (3812228), Valley Ford (3812238)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


Threat List Total:	5
EOs with Threat Listed:	Total EOs	% of EOs
	12	39 %
Non-native plant impacts	9	29%
Grazing	3	9%
Erosion/runoff	2	6%
Foot traffic/trampling	1	3%
Other	1	3%

Notes



Threatened by development and non-native plants. See Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 10:45 (1874) for original description, and A Flora of Western Middle California , p. 506 (1901) by W. L. Jepson for revised nomenclature.
Threats:

Taxonomy:

Selected References

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 1 November 2025].