Cirsium vulgare

Bull Thistle is a biennial plant in the Asteraceae (daisy) family that is native to Europe to Siberia, and the Arabian Peninsula. Its name comes from the Greek kersion which means thistle. The plant is spiny all over with a tall branching stem that contains large reddish purple flower heads. The plant often grows 2 to 5 feet tall with clasping leaves that are 8 to 24 inches long. It is often found along the edges of salt marshes, meadows, fields, shores, savannahs, roadsides, and it can invade almost any type of disturbed area where it forms dense thickets that crowd out native plants. Populations of bull thistle tend to be short lived, establishing after disturbance, dominating for a few years, and then declining as other vegetation recovers.  

Bull thistle prefers sunny, open areas. It grows in all types of soils from moist to dry conditions but prefers moist soil. It is self-pollinated via seed but expect it to take two years until it flowers forming a rosette of leaves the first year and sending up a flowering stem the second year with a solitary flower or a cluster of flowers. This thistle is much easier to control than other thistles. 

It is a high-value nectar plant for bees and butterflies and the songbirds eat the seeds and use the tufts of the seeds for their nests.  The seeds are rich in oil, an important food source for seed-eating birds.  Flowers are also attractive to hummingbirds.  Members of this genus support the following specialized bees: Thistle Long-horned bee Melissodes desponsus, plus Osmia (Helicosmia) chalybea and Osmia (Helicosmia) texana.

Thistles are a great option in your meadow garden or naturalized area when looking for a plant to attract pollinators and seed-eating birds. However, this species is considered a noxious weed in many areas of the United States. Please consider planting the Native Alternative Plants shown in the left sidebar. 

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems.