Bull Thistle
Cirsium vulgare
Its fluffy seed down is a favorite nesting material for American Goldfinches, who also rely heavily on the seeds for food.
- Scientific name
- Cirsium vulgare
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Asterales › Asteraceae › Cirsium
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Pastures, fields, disturbed soils, roadsides, and open grasslands.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (photosynthesis)
- Range
- Europe, North America, Asia, North Africa, Australia
- Size
- 1 to 2 meters tall
- Lifespan
- 2 years (biennial)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Herbicides, mowing, and biological control agents like the thistle seed head weevil.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless but defensive. The plant is covered in sharp, stiff spines that can easily puncture skin and cause minor irritation. Wear thick gardening gloves if handling, and watch your step in infested fields. If pricked, wash the area with soap and water and use tweezers to remove any embedded spine tips.
Cirsium vulgare , the spear thistle , bull thistle , or common thistle , is a species of the Asteraceae genus Cirsium , native throughout most of Europe (north to 66°N, locally 68°N), Western Asia (east to the Yenisei Valley), and northwestern Africa (Atlas Mountains). It is also naturalised in North America, Africa, and Australia and is an invasive weed in some areas. It is the national flower of Scotland.
Photo: Sandy Wolkenberg, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
Plain-text version: /species/e0a5998f-f4fa-48db-9417-e945dabae276.md