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Yellow Thistle

Cirsium horridulum

Very weedy

Native to Florida. Not suggested for planting. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
Up to about 8 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Very weedy. Can be difficult to manage in a garden. Hidden from planting suggestions by default; wildlife value remains unchanged. Plant caution source

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

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual, biennial or perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
Spring and summer

Not yet recorded · Spread

Recorded in 64 Florida counties.

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 142 animals.

All wildlife of Florida

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

30CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Cirsium

  • Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
  • Anagrapha falciferaCelery Looper Moth
  • Calephelis virginiensisNorthern Metalmark
  • Cenopis reticulatanaReticulated Fruitworm Moth
  • Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
  • Dicymolomia julianalisJulia's Dicymolomia
  • Epiblema scudderianaScudder's Epiblema, Goldenrod Gall Moth
  • Euxoa auxiliarisArmy Cut-Worm, Army Cutworm
  • Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
  • Lipocosmodes fuliginosalisSooty Lipocosmodes
Show all 30
  • Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth
  • Orthodes cynicaCynical Quaker, Cynical Groundcat
  • Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk 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
  • Syntomeida ipomoeaeYellow-Banded Wasp Moth
  • Udea rubigalisCelery Leaftier
  • Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
  • Vanessa virginiensisAmerican Lady, American Painted Lady
  • Walshia miscecolorellaSweetclover Root Borer Moth
  • Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
  • Hedya cyanana
  • Homoeosoma pedionnastes
  • Omiodes simialis
  • Pseudotelphusa carduiella
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 5a–10b
Soil pH
Neutral to alkaline
Flower color
Cream, yellow, pink, purple, red or white

What its natural habitat tells you

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Bull Thistle; Carduus spinosissimus and Carduus smallii; Common Yellow Thistle; Horrid Thistle; plumeless thistle; plumeless-thistle

Conservation status

Florida rankS4S5
Global rankG5
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources