Spiny plumeless thistle

Description:

This thistle may exceed two meters in height and can form weedy monotypic stands. The stem and foliage are spiny and sometimes woolly. The plant starts from a flat basal rosette and then bolts an erect stem with occasional toothed, wrinkled, spiny leaves. At the top of each branch of the stem is an inflorescence of one to several flower heads, each rounded, covered in spiny phyllaries, and bearing many threadlike purple disc florets. In both native and non-native ranges this plant is a weed of roadsides, fields, and disturbed areas.

Habitat:

Spotted at the road margins.

Notes:

Camera Model: NIKON D300. Exposure Time: 1/60 sec.; f/10; ISO Speed Rating: 200. Focal Length: 90.0 mm. Flash fired