Red Star Thistle
Centaurea calcitrapa
Found in roadsides, disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Virginia. 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 7 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Centaurea
- Epiblema scudderianaScudder's Epiblema, Goldenrod Gall Moth
- Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth
- Platyptilia carduidactylusArtichoke Plume Moth
- Schinia arcigeraArcigera Flower Moth
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
6Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Centaurea
- Megachile pugnata
- Melissodes denticulatus
- Melissodes desponsus
- Melissodes rivalis
- Melissodes subillatus
- Perdita octomaculata
12BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Centaurea
- Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Haemorhous mexicanusHouse Finch
- Junco hyemalisDark-eyed Junco
- Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
- Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
- Pipilo maculatusSpotted Towhee
- Spinus psaltriaLesser Goldfinch
- Spinus tristisAmerican Goldfinch
- Spizella passerinaChipping Sparrow
Show all 12
- Zonotrichia atricapillaGolden-crowned Sparrow
- Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow
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
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- 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
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications