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Swamp Thistle

Cirsium muticum

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in swamps, wet thickets, woodlands, seepage slopes, wet prairies, meadows. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

87
Keystone

Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
4 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Usually moist
Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Biennial
Bloom
August to November

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 1 Arkansas county.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 6

Forest edges and thickets

Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields
Named place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Swamps

Forested wetlands with standing water much of the year, such as cypress and gum swamps.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

Meadows

Open, grassy or flowery ground that is not wet, such as mountain meadows; wet meadows are separate.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

27CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR

Genus host records with ranges including AR · Cirsium

  • Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
  • Anagrapha falciferaCelery Looper Moth
  • Calephelis muticumSwamp Metalmark
  • Cenopis reticulatanaReticulated Fruitworm Moth
  • Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
  • Dicymolomia julianalisJulia's Dicymolomia
  • Epiblema scudderianaScudder's Epiblema, Goldenrod Gall Moth
  • Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
  • Lipocosmodes fuliginosalisSooty Lipocosmodes
  • Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth
Show all 27
  • Orthodes cynicaCynical Quaker, Cynical Groundcat
  • Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Papilio glaucusEastern Tiger Swallowtail
  • Paralobesia viteanaAmerican Vine Moth, Grape Berry Moth
  • Phyciodes tharosPearl Crescent, Crescentspot
  • Phycitodes reliquellaWhite-Edged Phycitodes
  • Platyptilia carduidactylusArtichoke Plume Moth
  • Pyrausta subsequalisMottled Pyrausta
  • Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
  • Udea rubigalisCelery Leaftier
  • Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
  • Vanessa virginiensisAmerican Lady, American Painted Lady
  • Walshia miscecolorellaSweetclover Root Borer Moth
  • Xestia c-nigrumSpotted Cut-Worm, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lesser Black-letter Dart
  • Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
  • Hedya cyanana
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
60BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Cirsium

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
12Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Cirsium

  • Andrena nubecula
  • Andrena placata
  • Andrena runcinatae
  • Andrena simplex
  • Diadasia enavata
  • Megachile pugnata
  • Melissodes confusus
  • Melissodes desponsus
  • Melissodes illatus
  • Melissodes rivalis
Show all 12
  • Osmia chalybea
  • Osmia texana
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
6BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Cirsium

  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
  • Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
  • Perdix perdixGray Partridge
  • Spizella pusillaField Sparrow
  • Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Hardiness
Zones 2a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic to alkaline
Flower color
Pink or purple
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Carduus muticus; plumeless thistle; plumeless-thistle

Conservation status

Arkansas rankS1
Global rankG5
AR statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources