Rusby's Thistle Cirsium rusbyi
Rusby's Thistle is a perennial wildflower native to the lower 48 states. A host for pollen-specialist native bees.
More about this plant
Cirsium mohavense is a species of thistle known by the common names virgin thistle and Mojave thistle. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it grows in moist areas in otherwise dry habitat, such as desert springs. It is most common in the Mojave Desert, found also in the southern Great Basin and other nearby regions of California, Nevada, western Arizona, and southwestern Utah. Wikipedia →
Growing & care
USDA PLANTS · TRY- Hardiness
- ≥ zone 10 derived from its U.S. range
- Lifespan
- Perennial
Wildlife & pollinators
How pollinator value is scored →❧ Caterpillar hosts ~29 caterpillar species
Cirsium supports ~29 caterpillar species.
Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a moderate genus.
Recorded feeding on Cirsium in North America, including:
+ 8 more species → ↑ show fewer
✦ Bees specialist-bee host
Specialist native bees depend on it.
Some native bees are pollen specialists (oligolectic) — they raise young only on pollen from particular plant genera. Cirsium is a recorded specialist-bee host, so losing it can mean losing the bee that relies on it.
Related plants
More Cirsium →
Sources for this entry (11) Open & cited
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