
Tall Thistle (Cirsium altissimum)
Growing on a dirt roadside at the edge of a dense mixed forest. These plants grow to extreme heights, ours topping out at around 11 feet (35 dm)! The swallowtail butterflies love nectaring on these flowers!
Leaves are shallowly lobed with white undersurfaces. C. discolor is similar but has deeply pinnatifid leaves.

''Cirsium altissimum'' is a North American species of plants in the thistle tribe within the sunflower family. Common name is tall thistle or roadside thistle. The species is native to the eastern and Central United States, with a range extending from Massachusetts west to North Dakota and south to Texas and the Florida Panhandle.
