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Good native thistles or nettles?

19 years ago

I am wondering if there are any well behaved native thistles or nettles. I would like to attract Painted Ladies to lay eggs on them. I did a search and there seems to be only invasive and non-native ones. I love butterflies but I refuse to plant anything bad for our native plants.

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Comments (4)

huzzah
19 years ago
http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides/pests/ipm1015.htm
Thistles are blooming now, can be beautiful and are great nectar plants.
The above link will give you some insight into which thistles are less desireable and how to ID them.
Keep in mind that the info there is for Mo. and may or may not be applicable for you.
huzzah
huzzah
19 years ago
look around this site for more data on what is native or not
in your area.
http://plants.usda.gov/index.html
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Stinging nettle is an interesting herb with potential medical uses (therapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia and allergies are among the applications with limited evidence). However, the link provided in the first post is a poor source of herbal information, on nettle specifically (including the belief that the herb treats virtually any ailment known to man) and on herbs in general, seeing that it depends on testimonials and touts ineffective and even dangerous remedies. As for the latter, it calls for using lobelia as a treatment for threatened miscarriage. This herb has nasty toxic properties, and herbalists as well as medical practitioners warn against its use. "Significant toxicity has occurred following use including vomiting, seizures, cardiovascular collapse, and coma. Lobelia may have additive toxicity when combined with nicotine...Patients should be warned not to use this supplement."
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This probably won't help you until next spring, but I know several of the NJ Audubon centers have periodic (once a year?) sales for wildlife plants. The one I took advantage of was in Bernardsville and required ordering ahead of time. It had some plants which are usually fairly difficult to get, and when I asked if plants were from fairly local sources I was told they were. I bought Dicentra eximia (wild bleeding heart) and Chelone glabra (turtlehead) from them. I know they had many of the other plants you've listed. Depending on where in NJ you live, you might also want to check out the sales put on by the NJ Native Plant Society. Here is a link that might be useful: NJ Audubon Centers
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"Nettles (Urtica), particularly Stinging Nettle, host Question Marks, Eastern Comma, Satyr Common Milbert's Tortoiseshell (Numphalis milberti) and the Red Admiral." --from link below. Hope they are a native one, as I read it doesn't sting so bad as Urtica dioica (and besides native is always better!). Also has herbal uses if your into that, and is highly nutricious--apparently cooking deactivates the sting! Here is a link that might be useful: Butterfly Host Plants
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Identifying from a rosette is nearly impossible. Many of the lettuces, hawkweeds and the dandelion relatives also have divided leaves with points and a few prickles on their rosettes. You'll need a good field guide and a blossoming plant for firm identification. Most of the thistles found growing in fields are not native. Below is a link to many pictures of thistles. Here is a link that might be useful: Thistles
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john_mo
19 years ago
Around here, two common native thistles that are good for butterflies are tall thistle and field thistle.

I agree with huzzah -- look these up on the USDA PLANTS website to see if they are native to your area. If you enter the genus name 'Cirsium' in a scientific name search, you will get a long list of species. If you select the first entry (the genus name, Cirsium), it will open a page with a series of distribution maps of the various species at the bottom. Click on maps that include your state, and check to see which are native. For example, field thistle, Cirsium discolor, is native to New England. Many native thistles are listed as 'weeds' by state agriculture agencies, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

You might have trouble finding a commercial source for thistle seeds, because the demand is probably not great. But if you can find a nature area that has native thistles, collecting seeds is easy this time of the year.
nywoodsman
19 years ago
I found two perennial nettle-like species that grow in your and my area.Urtica canadensis,wood nettel and Urtica cylindrica,False nettle.They both grow in rich or moist woods.They're prettier plants than the common nettle,Wood nettle is much less vicious than stinging nettle and False nettle lacks stinging hairs entirely.I usually see them growing in the undisturbed wet thickets and swamps in my area.Don't know if they are food sources for Painted Ladies,but they are nice plants to have in a shady wet spot.

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