Purple Thistle

Natural landscapes including meadows and butterfly gardens.

Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.



Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray.

Purple thistle is a thorny plant - be very careful when handling.

The seeds are rich in oil, an important food source for seed-eating birds.

Coastal plain, edges of salt marshes, pinewoods, prairies and disturbed areas.

• Showy flowers, Interesting foliage, Thorns
• Larval host to little metalmark (Calephelis virginiensis) and painted lady (Vanessa cardui) butterflies.
• Nectar source for native butterflies and bumblebees.  Bees documented in Florida include  Evylaeus pectoralis, Halictus ligatus, Lithurgzcs gibbosus, Megachile brevis pseudobrevis, and the non-native Apis mellifera (honeybee) (Deyrup et al. 2002).
• Beetles eat the flowers. 
• Provides nesting material for some native bees (based on information provided by the Xerces Society to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center)