Spiny Slender Thistle

slender thistle
Slender Thistle Carduus tenuiflorus  Photo: Janet HIggins

We were excited to see this spiny thistle on a Norfolk Flora Group outing to Berney Marshes. A large stand was found growing in a drier area, around the base of a disused windmill alongside Breydon water. This plant is typically found near the coast, but the last time I recorded it was well inland on a sandy slope at the UEA.

After examining the pappus hairs with a x10 lens we could see that the hairs were simple, confirming that this plant belonged to was the genus Carduus (Cirsium has branched pappus hairs)

slender thistle
Slender Thistle Carduus tenuiflorus  Photo: Janet HIggins

 

Janet Higgins
10.07.2018