Spear Thistle

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Spear Thistle - Nadya Korinfsky via NatureShare | Spear Thistle - Russell Best via NatureShare

Cirsium vulgare

A very spiny herb to 1.5 m. The stems have thin wings lined with sharp spines. The leaves are toothed or lobed with spines at the tips of the teeth or lobes. The small purple florets are clustered in a dense sphere surrounded by spiny bracts. The flowerheads are 2-5 cm in diameter.

Details
Flora Type
Herbs
Distinctive Features

A very prickly introduced plant with a distinctive purple flower head.
Biology

Annual or biennial. This species is a very common environmental weed found in pasture, along roadsides and in wasteland. It occurs in many different vegetation types, generally on more fertile soil. It can be controlled by weeding and spraying with herbicides. Slashing prior to seed formation prevents seeding.
Native Status
Introduced
Flowering Time

Jan-Mar
Taxonomy
Phylum
Tracheophyta (Vascular Plants)
Class
Magnoliopsida (Flowering Plants)
Order
Asterales
Family
Asteraceae
Genus
Cirsium
Species
vulgare

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

Goats eat the flowerheads. Rarely eaten by livestock, often renais as the only standing vegetation in dry periods.

Interesting Facts
Native Status
Introduced