Short-Styled Thistle (Cirsium brevistylum) is a native annual or biennial thistle found in the Pacific Northwest and grows in a variety of typically drier habitats, such as rocky slopes, meadows, and open forests. A pioneer species generally associated with disturbance, populations will generally diminish in size and density as landscapes heal. The smooth, shiny rosettes mature throughout the fall and winter, and in the following spring bolt into flower stalks that are occasionally massive and towering (over 9’ tall, but much more often between 2’-4’).
 
Short-Styled Thistle is an important plant for the endangered Taylor's Checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha taylori) and the Oregon Silverspot butterfly (Speyeria zerene hippolyta) by providing essential nectar and breeding habitat for adult butterflies. As well as also being prized by a wide variety of bees, butterflies, beetles, flies, and wasps, the seeds are an important source of food for songbirds, especially goldfinches. Due to declining habitats, pressure from invasive nonnative thistles, and weed control programs targeting thistles, our native thistle populations have themselves become increasingly scarce, making them important plants to cultivate for conservation purposes.
 
Rest assured, this thistle species is non-invasive and rather averse to competition from other plants. It spreads gradually through seeds and does not aggressively take over gardens or natural areas. Plants sown in the fall will form rosettes and bloom the following spring, while plants sown in the early spring may either bloom as smaller annuals or produce especially large flower stalks the following year.