Cobweb Thistle Seeds (Cirsium occidentale)

Defiant and otherworldly. Crimson and silver. This western thistle is a plant of some certain magnificence. And, it most certainly is not a weed.

Named for the gauzy, cobweb-like fibers that enclose the young pre-emergent flower heads, this fast-growing, deer-resistant biennial (sometimes short-lived perennial) bears wildly beautiful woolly-silver foliage and the most gloriously contrasting vibrant red flowers.

Cobweb thistle is broadly adapted to western states (while technically native from northeast Oregon throughout most of California, and parts of Nevada). It’s a plant of coastal bluffs, chaparral slopes, and dry open habitats. It wants full sun and good drainage. Shade and saturated soils make it unhappy.

Behold the height and stature of cobweb thistle in a good growing conditions! Some individual plants find their joy at a modest 2- to 3-feet in height, while others may reach for the 8-foot mark! Flowers open beginning in late spring, and continue through summer, attracting hummingbirds and numerous species of butterflies.

Look to this plant for scores of yellow-faced bumble bees (Bombus vosnesenskii), ultra-green sweat bees (Agapostemon texanus), the northern resin bee (Anthidiellum notatum), the western leafcutter (Megachile perihirta), the California mason bee (Osmia californica), the forest mason bee (Osmia nemoris), and the Texas mason bee (Osmia texana).

Cobweb thistle is a caterpillar host plant to the painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui), the American lady butterfly (Vanessa virginiensis), the thistle plume moth (Platyptilia carduidactyla), the California crescent butterfly (Phyciodes orseis), and the Mylitta Crescent butterfly (Phyciodes mylitta).

The nutritious seeds of this plant are a favorite of finches.

Possibly the most showy and dramatic of North America’s native thistle species. An exceptional native garden specimen plant.

Approximately 12 to 20+ seeds (0.2 grams).