Horrid Thistle (Cirsium horridulum)
NATIVE. This is definitely one of my favorite native flowers, and I don't think it gets nearly enough attention. Its defensive spikes can be quite painful if touched, but this plant is a pollinator favorite! Not only is it a host plant to The Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) and The Little Metalmark (Calephelis virginiensis), but it attracts many other pollinators!

''Cirsium horridulum'', called bristly thistle, is a North American species of plants in the thistle tribe within the sunflower family. The species is native to the eastern and southern United States from New England to Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma as well as to Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Bahamas.
