Cirsium muticum
(sold as Thistle)
Family: Compositae
Common name: SWAMP THISTLE
Plant
Flower
Leaf
Horticulture
Attracts wildlife: specific butterfly species
Butterflies that feed on this plant
Far and away the most appealing nectar plant for US butterflies is Cirsium. Our current butterfly nectar plant database contains 614 entries for this genus which represents 156 US butterfly species. If this were a garden plant, the butterfly species count would be even higher.
It can grow in Zones 3,4,5,6,7,8,9, and 10
