Bull Thistle

Plant Info

Also known as:
Scientific name:	Cirsium vulgare
Family:	Aster (Asteraceae)
Life cycle:	biennial
Origin:	Europe
Habitat:	sun; dry fields, disturbed soils
Bloom season:	summer, fall
Plant height:	2 to 6 feet
USDA PLANTS database:	Minnesota county distribution map
Spotted in Ramsey County at:	Long Lake Regional Park Rice Creek Trail Corridor Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park

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Detailed Information

Flower:

Reddish-purple flower head 1½ to 2 inches across on a very spiny, rounded bract.

Leaves and stem:

Leaves are 3 to 6 inches long and up to 2 inches across, alternately attached at the stem. Each leaf has 3 or more narrow lobes with a ½-inch long sharp yellowish spine at the tip of each lobe. Spines and white hairs cover the leaf surface and the stem.

Fruit:

Like other thistles, the seeds have plumes to carry them off in the wind.

Notes:

Bull Thistle is on the noxious weed list for Minnesota. It is the spiniest of all the thistles found in Minnesota. Being biennial, it produces a rosette of leaves the first year, and a tall flowering stalk the second.

More photos

• full size plant, about 5 feet tall
• a small plant gone to seed

More purple wildflowers. Photos taken at Long Lake Regional Park, New Brighton, MN, August-September 2006

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Ramsey County, or have any other comments about it?

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Please: Do not ask about where to buy seed or other gardening questions, are plants edible, etc. I am not a horticulturist or botanist, just an enthusiastic hobbyist so I probably don't know the answer. Please check the links page for additional resources. -thanks much

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