Swamp Thistle
Cirsium muticum
Found in swamps, wet thickets, woodlands, seepage slopes, wet prairies, meadows. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 4 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Biennial
- Bloom
- August to November
Not yet recorded · Spread · 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.
Forested wetlands with standing water much of the year, such as cypress and gum swamps.
Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.
Open, grassy or flowery ground that is not wet, such as mountain meadows; wet meadows are separate.
Who uses this plant?
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
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
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
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
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 2a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Pink or purple
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “August to November” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Pink or purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Hardiness · “Zones 2a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “4 feet” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Life cycle · “Biennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Carduus muticus; plumeless thistle; plumeless-thistle
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- West Virginia occurrence source
- 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