| Author | Torrey & A. Gray | |
| Distribution | Southern outer Coastal Plain, plus two counties in the middle Coastal Plain. Ranges north to Beaufort County.
Coastal Plain, NC to northern FL and southeastern LA. | |
| Abundance | Rare to uncommon, mainly restricted to moist/wet Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) stands, especially where frequently burned. The NCNHP database has about 34 records, though only about half are known to be extant populations. This is a Special Concern species. | |
| Habitat | Wet Longleaf Pine savannas and flatwoods, pitcher-plant seepages. |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting June-August. | |
| Identification | These plants grow 2-3 feet tall, with only 1-3 red-purple heads. The clinching character, when present, is that the leaf bases run down the stem as narrow "wings" (the only other NC thistle that does so is the alien C. vulgare). However, not all plants show this character; and so LeConte's Thistle closely resembles Sandhill Thistle (C. repandum) and Pasture Thistle (C. pumilum). From the first it differs in having fewer heads and longer flower stalks (5-30 cm long vs. 0-2 cm long); and from the second by shorter florets (25-45 mm vs. 45-55 mm) and restriction to the Coastal Plain. It is easily separated from C. nuttallii, very rare in the state, as that species has many branches and thus inflorescences, typically grows far above 3 feet tall (often 6-9 feet tall), the heads are rather small, and the heads are often white to pink (and not all pink). | |
| Taxonomic Comments | None
| |
| Other Common Name(s) | None | |
| State Rank | S2 | |
| Global Rank | G3 | |
| State Status | SC-V | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | FACW link |
| USACE-emp | FACW link |
