Cirsium horridulum
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Purple Thistle, Yellow Thistle
Asteraceae (Compositae)
Plant Specifics
Form: | Flower | |
Size: | 1-4 ft tall by 1-2 ft wide | |
Life Span: | Biennial | |
Flower Color: | Regionally variable: white, pink, purple, yellow | |
Fruit Color: | White | |
Phenology: | Overwinters as a basal rosette. Blooms in spring. | |
Noted for: | Showy flowers, Interesting foliage, Thorns |
Landscaping
Recommended Uses: | Natural landscapes including meadows and butterfly gardens. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Considerations: | Purple thistle is a thorny plant - be very careful when handling. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Propagation: | Readily self seeds. Following pollination the flower head can be bagged to collect the seed head which follows. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Availability: | Seed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Light: | Full Sun, Part Shade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Moisture Tolerance: |
always floodedextremely dry |
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(Somewhat moist, no flooding ----- to ----- Somewhat long very dry periods) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Moisture Tolerance: | Somewhat moist, no flooding ----- to ----- Somewhat long very dry periods | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Salt Water Flooding Tolerance: | Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Salt Spray/ Salty Soil Tolerance: | Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Soil or other substrate: | Sand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Soil pH: | 6.1 - 7.8 |
Ecology
Wildlife: |
The seeds are rich in oil, an important food source for seed-eating birds. | |
Insects: |
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Native Habitats: | Coastal plain, edges of salt marshes, pinewoods, prairies and disturbed areas. |
Distribution and Planting Zones
Natural Range in Florida
USDA Zones
Suitable to grow in:
10A 10B 11 8A 8B 9A 9B

USDA zones are based on minimum winter temperatures
Comments
Ethnobotany: | Members of the Seminole tribe used parts of this plant to make blowgun darts. |