Yellow Thistle; Bull Thistle; Horrid Thistle

Cirsium horridulum var. horridulum

Very weedy

Native to Louisiana (estimated). Not suggested for planting. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 41%

Cirsium horridulum var. horridulum — bloom photograph — (c) Susan Berg, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph

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

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 16 Louisiana parishes.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

25CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA

Genus host records with ranges including LA · 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
Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
Lipocosmodes fuliginosalisSooty Lipocosmodes
Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth

Show all 25

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 dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
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

What its natural habitat tells you

Conservation status

Louisiana rank	SNR
Global rank	G5T5
LA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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