Cirsium horridulum Michaux var. horridulum. Common name: Common Yellow Thistle, Bull Thistle. Phenology: Late Mar-early Jun. Habitat: Roadsides, woodlands, pine savannas. Distribution: ME south to FL, west to TX, mostly on the Coastal Plain and adjacent provinces; also Mexico and Bahamas.
Origin/Endemic status: Native
Synonymy ⓘ: = C, FNA19, K4, NE, NY, Pa, SE1, Va; = Carduus spinosissimus Walter — RAB; = Cirsium horridulum Michx. — Bah, S; < Cirsium horridulum Michx. — F, Fl7, G, Mex, NcTx, POWO, Tat, Tn, WH3; < Cirsium horridulum Michx. — GW2; > Cirsium horridulum Michx. var. elliottii Torr. & A.Gray; Cirsium horridulum Michx. Basionym: Cirsium horridulum Michx. 1803
Links to other floras: = Cirsium horridulum var. horridulum - FNA19
Show parent genus | Show parent in key(s)
Wetland Indicator Status:
- Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FAC (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
- Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FACU (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
- Great Plains: FAC (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
- Midwest: FACU (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
- Northcentral & Northeast: FACU (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
Heliophily ⓘ: 8
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© Keith Bradley | Original Image ⭷
© Keith Bradley | Original Image ⭷
© Alan M. Cressler | Original Image ⭷
© Richard & Teresa Ware CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
© Alan Weakley source | Original Image ⭷
© Richard & Teresa Ware CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
© Alan Weakley source | Original Image ⭷Feedback
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Horticultural Information
Intro: Erect, coarse biennial/short-lived perennial of roadsides, woodlands, sandy clearings and pine savannas.
Stems: Stems simple or with short, stout branches, and smooth to very hairy.
Leaves: Leaves basal and alternate on the stem, oblong-lance-shaped to elliptic, to 16 in. long (smaller and clasping upward), deeply lobed and toothed, hairy on both surfaces, with spines to 1 in. long.
Inforescence:
Flowers: Compound flowers (heads) 1-10 at top of stem and subtended by several bract-like, sessile, spiny leaves; heads yellow to white or reddish-purple, to 3 1/2 in. tall, consisting of many disk flowers, each with 5 thread-like lobes; the urn-shaped base of each head is covered with tightly held, hairy-edged, green bracts.
Fruits:
Comments: An important larval host and nectar source for butterflies.
Height: 3-8 ft.
plant sale text:
bloom table text:
description: Erect, coarse biennial/short-lived perennial of roadsides, woodlands, sandy clearings and pine savannas.
stems: Stems simple or with short, stout branches, and smooth to very hairy.
leaves: Leaves basal and alternate on the stem, oblong-lance-shaped to elliptic, to 16 in. long (smaller and clasping upward), deeply lobed and toothed, hairy on both surfaces, with spines to 1 in. long.
inflorescence:
flowers: Compound flowers (heads) 1-10 at top of stem and subtended by several bract-like, sessile, spiny leaves; heads yellow to white or reddish-purple, to 3 1/2 in. tall, consisting of many disk flowers, each with 5 thread-like lobes; the urn-shaped base of each head is covered with tightly held, hairy-edged, green bracts.
fruits:
comments: An important larval host and nectar source for butterflies.
cultural notes:
germination code:
native range:
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