Musk Thistle DSC_4809
Musk Thistle / carduus nutans. Longstone Edge, Derbyshire. 06/07/16.
BEST VIEWED LARGE.
This summer I finally found Musk Thistles on the point of flowering, growing on the limestone grazing pasture above Longstone Edge. What impressive plants these biennial herbs are. They belong to the sunflower family.
Each large flowerhead contains hundreds of individual, reddish-purple flowers. The flowers around the perimeter open first and this can be seen clearly in my image. The unknown bee sp. has wasted no time in taking nectar.
Encircling the flowerhead are spiny bracts, purple in colour, pale tipped and very painful if come into contact with.
If viewed large, you can also see that the lower green bracts bear a cottony material akin to spider silk. It is also found on the stems and waxy surfaced leaves.
(It has nothing to do with spiders but is another fascinating feature of the plant.)
Musk Thistle DSC_4809
Musk Thistle / carduus nutans. Longstone Edge, Derbyshire. 06/07/16.
BEST VIEWED LARGE.
This summer I finally found Musk Thistles on the point of flowering, growing on the limestone grazing pasture above Longstone Edge. What impressive plants these biennial herbs are. They belong to the sunflower family.
Each large flowerhead contains hundreds of individual, reddish-purple flowers. The flowers around the perimeter open first and this can be seen clearly in my image. The unknown bee sp. has wasted no time in taking nectar.
Encircling the flowerhead are spiny bracts, purple in colour, pale tipped and very painful if come into contact with.
If viewed large, you can also see that the lower green bracts bear a cottony material akin to spider silk. It is also found on the stems and waxy surfaced leaves.
(It has nothing to do with spiders but is another fascinating feature of the plant.)