Cirsium nuttallii

Cirsium nuttallii, called Nuttall’s thistle, is a North American species of plants in the thistle tribe within the sunflower family. The species is native to the coastal plain of the southeastern and south-central United States, from eastern Texas to southeastern Virginia.

Cirsium nuttallii is a biennial or perennial herb up to 350 cm (almost 12 feet) tall, with a large taproot. Leaves are up to 60 cm (24 inches) long with thin, green on the upper side but gray to white on the underside because of numerous woolly hairs; spines along the edges of the leaves. There are a few flower heads, each head with white, pink, purple or lavender disc florets but no ray florets.