States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaArkansasFloridaLouisianaMississippiVirginiaWest Virginia
Menu

Field Thistle

Cirsium discolor

Found in pastures, woodlands, thickets. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

90
Keystone

Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
3–10 feet
Spread
1–2 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 1.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 44 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Biennial
Bloom
August to November

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 9 West Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 3

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Forests and woodlands

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

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

31CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · Cirsium

  • Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
  • Anagrapha falciferaCelery Looper Moth
  • Autographa precationisCommon Looper Moth
  • 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 31
  • Orthodes cynicaCynical Quaker, Cynical Groundcat
  • Papaipema arctivorensNorthern Burdock Borer Moth
  • Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
  • Papaipema cerussataIronweed Borer Moth
  • Papaipema insulidensRagwort Stem Borer
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Papilio glaucusEastern Tiger Swallowtail
  • Paralobesia viteanaAmerican Vine Moth, Grape Berry Moth
  • Phlogophora irisOlive Angle Shades
  • Phyciodes tharosPearl Crescent, Crescentspot
  • Phycitodes reliquellaWhite-Edged Phycitodes
  • Platyptilia carduidactylusArtichoke Plume Moth
  • Pyrausta subsequalisMottled Pyrausta
  • 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
  • Pyla aenigmatica
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

Beetles 1
  • Diabrotica longicornis

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Flies 2
  • Exoprosopa fasciata
  • Systoechus vulgaris

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Adult butterflies / moths 7
  • Anosia plexippus
  • Argynnis cybele
  • Deilephila lineata
  • Hemaris thysbe
  • Papilio asterias
  • Speyeria idalia
  • Vanessa cardui

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Hardiness
Zones 3a–9b
Flower color
Pink, purple or white

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Carduus discolor; plumeless thistle; plumeless-thistle

Conservation status

West Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

Choose a county to begin.

How to check your spot

Sources