Pictorial guide to the flora of the British Isles

Home ⟩ Pictorial Guide ⟩ Asteraceae / Compositae ⟩ Cirsium eriophorum / woolly thistle

Cirsium eriophorum (L.) Scop.

woolly thistle (Asteraceae / Compositae)

 SpreadBias within British IslesDirection of bias
WidespreadStrong tendencySE
Plant Atlas 2020
BSBI Distribution Map

The woolly phyllaries around the flower-heads of Cirsium eriophorum are distinctive.

Tratenkogel, Austria; 2004-08-21

 woolly thistle / Cirsium eriophorum: The woolly phyllaries around the flower-heads of _Cirsium eriophorum_ are distinctive.

Cirsium eriophorum grows in grasslands over limestone; it is most abundant in the Cotswolds and Salisbury Plain.

Hochschwab, Austria; 2005-09-24

 woolly thistle / Cirsium eriophorum: _Cirsium eriophorum_ grows in grasslands over limestone; it is most abundant in the Cotswolds and Salisbury Plain.

The rosette leaves of Cirsium eriophorum consist of 4 ranks of leaf-lobes, with 2 of the ranks raised upwards, redolent of the dermal plates along the back of a Stegosaurus.

Snowshill (VC33: East Gloucestershire); 2018-05-23

 woolly thistle / Cirsium eriophorum: The rosette leaves of _Cirsium eriophorum_ consist of 4 ranks of leaf-lobes, with 2 of the ranks raised upwards, redolent of the dermal plates along the back of a _Stegosaurus_.

All images copyright © Christopher J. Dixon unless otherwise indicated.

L-R: Bidens tripartita, Melilotus officinalis, Mimulus guttatus, Thalictrum flavum, Ranunculus peltatus, Anchusa arvensis, Malva alcea, Lolium perenne