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Carline Thistle

©Bruce Shortland

Carline thistle

The Carline thistle produces distinctive brown-and-golden flower heads that look like a seeded thistle. These flowers are attractive to a wide range of butterflies, including the very rare Large blue.

Scientific name

Carlina vulgaris

When to see

January to December

Species information

Category

Statistics

Height: up to 60cm
Common.

About

The Carline thistle is a spiny biennial plant that can be found on dry, chalk grassland. Its distinctive brown and golden flower heads look like a daisy that is dying or a thistle that's gone to seed, but they are, in fact, in full flower. They can be seen from July to September, although the dead heads persist for much longer, often into the following spring.

How to identify

The Carline thistle has clusters of flower heads that look like dead or dying daisies. They are actually composite flower heads, consisting of brown florets (tiny flowers) surrounded by a fringe of golden bracts (leaf-like structures). In the bright sunshine, they glisten silver and gold. Carline Thistles have oblong leaves, with wavy margins and spiny lobes, that hug their stems.

Distribution

Mainly found in England and Wales; scattered distribution elsewhere.

Did you know?

The Carline thistle is a nectar source for a wide variety of butterflies including the Brimstone, Chalkhill blue, Gatekeeper, Marbled white, Silver-spotted skipper, Dark green fritillary and the once extinct, but recently reintroduced, Large blue.