Daisy & Dandelion Family [Asteraceae] |
Flowers: |
Pappus: (white, simple) |
status
flower
morph
petals
stem
stem
wingedstem
pricklessmell
muskcontact
sex
2nd July 2014, Cwm, Prestatyn, Clwyd. | Photo: © RWD |
Grows up to 1m high in open grassland on lime. |
2nd July 2014, Cwm, Prestatyn, Clwyd. | Photo: © RWD |
Flower-heads large and in singles on possibly branched stalks near the top of the plant. Stems have spiny wings, as does Welted Thistle. |
2nd July 2014, Cwm, Prestatyn, Clwyd. | Photo: © RWD |
When fully open the flower-heads droop sideways, which is very distinctive of Musk Thistle. The stem has wings, but they are discontinuous. Leaves hairy on the underside. |
12th June 2008, Head of Cressbrookdale, Derbyshire. | Photo: © RWD |
Leaves not dis-similar to those of Spear Thistle, but shorter and smaller. |
12th June 2008, Head of Cressbrookdale, Derbyshire. | Photo: © RWD |
Flowers not yet fully out. Light-green sharp triangular bracts (actually phyllaries) almost obscure the emerging purple florets. |
19th July 2005, near Magpie Mine, Derbyshire. | Photo: © RWD |
Paradoxically, heads droop melancholically on Musk Thistle rather than on Melancholy Thistle. The bracts are forcibly swept backwards when the flower opens. This one seems not as short nor as solidly built as the others here, and perhaps it is the hybrid between Musk Thistle and Welted Thistle. |
19th July 2005, near Magpie Mine, Derbyshire. | Photo: © RWD |
Stems and bracts are covered in white woolly hairs, but not as dense as they are on Woolly Thistle. This may(?) be the hybrid between Musk Thistle and Welted Thistle. |
12th June 2008, Head of Cressbrookdale, Derbyshire. | Photo: © RWD |
Tends to have very prickly and spiny leaves. |
12th June 2008, Head of Cressbrookdale, Derbyshire. | Photo: © RWD |
The spiny bracts around the head are a light green in colour, but purple-tipped. They are sharp! |
12th June 2008, Head of Cressbrookdale, Derbyshire. | Photo: © RWD |
The pollen is a deep grey-blue. The fine woolly hairs spun like a cobweb going around from bract to bract. Those bracts furthest from the flower-head are swept backwards. |
31st July 2015, Bole Hill, nr Stanage Edge, Peak District. | Photo: © RWD |
The bracts are rather neatly arranged on this specimen, if the colour temperature of the photo leaves something to be desired. |
12th June 2008, Head of Cressbrookdale, Derbyshire. | Photo: © RWD |
The stems become a very pale whitish-green near the drooping heads and is covered in fine hairs. |
31st July 2015, Bole Hill, nr Stanage Edge, Peak District. | Photo: © RWD |
A stressed out plant where even the green bracts are reddened. |
17th Aug 2016, Betchcott Hills, Church Stretton, Shrops. | Photo: © RWD |
Exuberant inflorescence. |
17th Aug 2016, Betchcott Hills, Church Stretton, Shrops. | Photo: © RWD |
The stigmas are indigo near the tips, whilst the anthers best seen on the fringe are purple. |
17th Aug 2016, Betchcott Hills, Church Stretton, Shrops. | Photo: © RWD |
The indigo-coloured styles emerge from a tube. They are tipped by azure-coloured fuzzy stigmas. |
17th Aug 2016, Betchcott Hills, Church Stretton, Shrops. | Photo: © RWD |
The seed-head is dense with white hairs, comprised of hundreds of pappii. |
17th Aug 2016, Betchcott Hills, Church Stretton, Shrops. | Photo: © RWD |
The pappus is simple, the seed fawn-coloured. |
Hybridizes with : Welted Thistle (Carduus crispus) to produce Not to be confused with: Musk (a yellow Monkeyflower) nor with Melancholy Thistle, which does not droop its head as does Musk Thistle. As its common name suggests, the flowers are musky and very fragrant. The seeds are borne on simple white hairs. It is a plant frequently found on rough grassland, waste ground, field margins, especially on chalky or sandy soils. Avoids mountainous areas, present mainly in the east of England, or South of Leeds, but avoiding much of Kent and East Sussex.
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Carduus | nutans | ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ | Asteraceae |
Carduus (Thistles) |
Daisy & Dandelion Family [Asteraceae] |