Italian Thistle

Carduus pycnocephalus

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Not native

Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

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At a glance

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 1 Alabama county.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

11CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Carduus

Epiblema scudderianaScudder's Epiblema, Goldenrod Gall Moth
Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
Phlogophora irisOlive Angle Shades
Platyptilia carduidactylusArtichoke Plume Moth
Pyrausta subsequalisMottled Pyrausta
Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
Vanessa virginiensisAmerican Lady, American Painted Lady
Pseudotelphusa carduiella

Show all 11

Scythris fuscicomella

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

2Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Carduus

Dieunomia heteropoda
Melissodes desponsus

Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Asteraceae

What its natural habitat tells you

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Conservation status

Alabama rank	SNA
Global rank	Not available
AL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source

Native alternatives

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Sources