{"assessment":{"band":"Not native","fit_score":null,"native_basis":"not_native","rarity_adjustment":null,"rarity_policy":"Conservation status is displayed separately and never changes ecological scores, including when unranked.","reason":"Reported non-native to Kentucky.","reference":"NC native reference cohort, method 0.6.4; not a Kentucky percentile","score":null,"scoring_inputs":{"harm_penalty":0,"invasive":false,"invasive_rank":null,"native":false,"state_rank":""},"status":"not_native","version":"shared-0.6.5"},"condition_evidence":{},"evidence":{"fit_score":null,"growth_habit":null,"invasive_status":{"status":"unresolved"},"native_status":{"status":"not_native"},"occurrence":{"county_fips":["21067","21097","21161","21181","21201"],"meaning":"Recorded occurrence; not a county native-range assertion"},"quercus_score":null,"regional":{"county_fips":["21067","21097","21161","21181","21201"],"growth_habit":null,"growth_habit_source":null,"invasive":null,"invasive_evidence":[],"invasive_rank":null,"native":false,"native_evidence":[{"basis":"unanimous_direct_child_native_flags","claim":"introduced","matched_name":"Carduus acanthoides","scope":"TN-KY","source":"tnky_atlas","supporting_taxa":[{"atlas_id":2436,"native_flag":"N","scientific_name":"Carduus acanthoides ssp. acanthoides","url":"https://tennessee-kentucky.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant/species/2436"}],"url":"https://tennessee-kentucky.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant/species/3694"},{"claim":"introduced","matched_name":"Carduus acanthoides","scope":"L48","source":"usda","text":"CAN:I L48:I","url":"https://plants.usda.gov/"}],"native_status":"not_native","source_ids":["tnky:3694"],"source_name":"Carduus acanthoides","source_refs":["KY-county-21067.json","KY-county-21097.json","KY-county-21181.json","KY-county-21201.json","sernec_county"],"source_url":"https://tennessee-kentucky.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant/species/3694","state_rank":null},"source_refs":["KY-county-21067.json","KY-county-21097.json","KY-county-21181.json","KY-county-21201.json","sernec_county"],"source_url":"https://tennessee-kentucky.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant/species/3694","state_rank":{"value":null}},"fit_inputs":{"light":null,"moisture":null,"ph":null},"fit_provenance":{"moisture":"unknown: no matched indicator"},"fit_record":{"band":"Not native","condition_evidence":{},"county_fips":["21067","21097","21161","21181","21201"],"fit_inputs":{"light":null,"moisture":null,"ph":null},"fit_note":"Shared sunlight, moisture and pH calculation; county geography is an additional layer. Missing source traits remain unknown.","fit_provenance":{"moisture":"unknown: no matched indicator"},"garden_suitability":{"default_excluded":false,"flags":[],"review_status":"not_assessed"},"invasive_rank":false,"native_eligible":false,"quercus_score":null,"state":"KY"},"garden_suitability":{"default_excluded":false,"flags":[],"review_status":"not_assessed"},"growing_observations":{"minnesota_wildflowers":{"matched_name":"Carduus acanthoides","retrieved":"2026-10-04T02:32:08.730197+00:00","scope":{"kind":"unspecified"},"scope_note":"Source-reported species characteristics; not a location-specific estimate.","source_label":"Minnesota Wildflowers","source_sha256":"1e8eb3ef892492c096817c034e60be5aa55b4291dcac2da37bfcba0272dc99d3","source_url":"https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/plumeless-thistle","trait_evidence":[{"expected_source_name":"Carduus acanthoides","field":"life_cycle","original_field":"life_cycle","record_id":"trait:1c87b2ff4dd6e77530c2863cd8104521f3a9389a3bfdac40e27c1522d2d91167","retrieved_at":"2026-10-04T02:32:08.730197+00:00","scope":{"kind":"unspecified"},"scope_note":"Species profile; distribution and native-status discovery filters do not establish local growing or bloom timing.","source":"minnesota","source_name":"Carduus acanthoides","source_sha256":"1e8eb3ef892492c096817c034e60be5aa55b4291dcac2da37bfcba0272dc99d3","source_url":"https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/plumeless-thistle","status":"eligible_fact","taxon_id":"taxon:c66d3db3-d788-58d6-9e4d-8a2d7919022c","value":["biennial"]},{"expected_source_name":"Carduus acanthoides","field":"height_description","original_field":"height","record_id":"trait:647a736a6c85b7d96b59550d4259a668c6b5d5a511de112403bcbd76eedbc2c6","retrieved_at":"2026-10-04T02:32:08.730197+00:00","scope":{"kind":"unspecified"},"scope_note":"Species profile; distribution and native-status discovery filters do not establish local growing or bloom timing.","source":"minnesota","source_name":"Carduus acanthoides","source_sha256":"1e8eb3ef892492c096817c034e60be5aa55b4291dcac2da37bfcba0272dc99d3","source_url":"https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/plumeless-thistle","status":"eligible_fact","taxon_id":"taxon:c66d3db3-d788-58d6-9e4d-8a2d7919022c","value":{"max":6,"min":3,"unit":"feet"}}],"values":{"height_description":"3–6 feet","life_cycle":["biennial"]}}},"native_synthesis":{"claims":[{"basis":"unanimous_direct_child_native_flags","claim":"introduced","matched_name":"Carduus acanthoides","scope":"TN-KY","source":"tnky_atlas","supporting_taxa":[{"atlas_id":2436,"native_flag":"N","scientific_name":"Carduus acanthoides ssp. acanthoides","url":"https://tennessee-kentucky.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant/species/2436"}],"url":"https://tennessee-kentucky.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant/species/3694"},{"claim":"introduced","matched_name":"Carduus acanthoides","scope":"L48","source":"usda","text":"CAN:I L48:I","url":"https://plants.usda.gov/"}],"county_native_range":"unresolved","explanation":"Source scopes are preserved. State occurrence alone does not establish nativity; combined regional evidence is labeled estimated.","label":"Not native to Kentucky","rule":"southeast-native-synthesis-1","status":"not_native"},"source_name":"Carduus acanthoides","taxon_id":"taxon:c66d3db3-d788-58d6-9e4d-8a2d7919022c","revision":"publish:5809c037-0e9a-430a-8008-5ab6f69800c0","photos":[{"id":"inat-213254798","src":"/api/photos/image/3237441ca987633ac3b80d6515dd3a9351324a4987f838b7baf9afa74dbfe0e3.jpg","view":"bloom","alt":"Carduus acanthoides — flower photograph","width":500,"height":340,"artist":"(c) Pavel Komkov, some rights reserved (CC BY)","license":"CC BY 4.0","license_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","source_url":"https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/213254798","changes":"iNaturalist medium image; no additional crop, retouching, or re-encoding."}]}