Tuberous Thistle (Cirsium tuberosum)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > flowering plant > Herbaceous plant |
| Red List Status: | Near Threatened (Not Relevant) [NT(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Cirsium tuberosum |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (L.) All. |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | in Stroh et al., 2014 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | NT in England, with around 50 sites in chalk grassland in Wiltshire where it appears to be stable although hybridisation with C. aculae and subsequent introgression has led to doubts as to whether true C. tubersoum occurs at all in England. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Relies on the maintenance of tall, Bromopsis erectus grassland (CG3) on chalk downland, through extensive (rotational) grazing with cattle for short periods (this method was trialled and proved effective on Salisbury Plain) |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | This species would not benefit from untargeted management |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 6. Recovery solutions trialled |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - sufficient |
| Species Comments: | Populations were surveyed in England and Wales 2000-2005 and on Salisbury Plain again more recently |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: A comparative molecular study is needed to assess the extent to which English and Welsh populations are pure or introgressed with C. acuale.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites
High priority sites:
Comments: Would make a good PhD study
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Utilising the results of Action 1 identify key sites where heavy grazing is threatening the integrity of C. tuberosum populations and reduce grazing pressures
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: Avebury Circle, Wylye Down
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Attempt (again) to reintroduce the species to historic or nearby East Anglian sites (where now extinct) using the East Anglian material held at Cambridge University Botanic Garden
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Ex situ conservation
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Great Eversden
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.