Plants We Love: Yellow Thistle (Cirsium horridulum)

Yellow thistle (Cirsium horridulum) is a native plant that attracts pollinators, hosts butterfly larva and tolerates drought.

Published Feb 16, 2010 12:02 AM PST

Plant name: Yellow thistle

Botanical name:Cirsium horridulum

Virtues: Large yellow flowers that appear in late spring and early summer. Attracts pollinators and hosts the larva of several butterfly species.

Foliage: Prickly and bristly.

Flowers: Yellow pincushion-like flowers open from large prickly buds. A purple-flowered form occurs inland.

Habit: Herbaceous perennial growing 1 to 3 feet tall from a slightly wider rosette of leaves.

Origin: Shores, marches and sandy fields of the Eastern Seaboard west to Texas.

Cultivation: Grow in full sun, in moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils. Tolerates drought and prefers poor soil. USDA Zones 3 to 8.