Rhaponticum is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae.

As of November 2023[update], it is accepted by Plants of the World Online, but rejected by the Global Compositae Database in favour of Leuzea.

[6] Combining the genera Rhaponticum and Leuzea under the latter name was first suggested by Josef Holub in 1973.

[7] A 2006 phylogenetic study confirmed that as then circumscribed the genus Leuzea was embedded within Rhaponticum.

[8] As of November 2023[update], the Global Composite Database considers all four Rhaponticum names as synonyms of the genus Leuzea.