Saturday 2 August 2008

Thistle patch

There are enough thistles flowering at the moment to please even Eeyore in his Thistle Patch. My favourite is the Woolly Thistle, which is found on the North Downs above Folkestone.

There is a plethora of Spear, Slender, Meadow and Creeping Thistles, but it's good to see distinctively different species.

The Dwarf or Stemless Thistle is painful to sit upon, and when it's not flowering it's not easy to see.

Carline Thistles are looking good, and will desiccate and stay until next year's crop appears.
The nodding Musk Thistle

Sorry, don't know what this is.

The various Knapweeds add a darker purple to the landscape (or in this case, a white one).
Burdock (does anyone really like Dandelion & Burdock drinks?)


The arrangements of petals of some flowers resemble star-bursts, don't you think?
(with apologies for the tenuous link - it was regatta week at Deal, and we enjoyed the fireworks again)

3 comments:

Mary said...

You amaze me! I never dreamed there were so many different thistles! I thought all thistles were just the every day purple variety that I see around here (I have exactly one growing in my side yard that will bloom soon). Each one was interesting in some way.

Greenie said...

Eeyore , my all time 'Super Hero' , would be proud of you for highlighting this much maligned flower . My book lists 27 varieties in the UK , all members of the Daisy family .
I see you were re-united with the Wasp Beetle on the Black Knapweed .
Just a guess on the 'unknown' - Welted Thistle . Hope your excursion wasn't too painful.

Warren Baker said...

Nice original post steve,
acurate, and to the ''point''