Musk thistle - Carduus nutans

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Musk thistle - Carduus nutans
© Dr Chris Gibson/English Nature

This tall distinctive thistle is quite unmistakable with its large, usually single, nodding flower heads. It has spiny-lobed leaves and spiny, cottony stems. In the wild, the musk thistle occurs in rough pastures, roadsides and waste places, mainly on chalk or limestone soils.

This is a very handsome plant, also known as nodding thistle, because of its large, elegantly inclined blooms. Up close, these flowers have a deliciously sweet, musk smell. This is one of the plants on which the painted lady butterfly lays its eggs and like other members of the thistle family will bring in finches to feed on the plentiful seeds.

Animals

Calocoris norvegicus, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Linnet, Meadow brown, Mother of pearl moth, Painted lady

Foliage	Green
Flower	Purple, May to August
Moisture	(Dry)
Sunlight	(Full sun)
Origin	Native