Thistle

Thistle is a type of plant with over 200 species in the world and 58 species in North America. Thistle is a national symbol of Scotland. When Vikings tried to creep up on Scottish Clansmen, they happened to walk barefoot over thistles. This resulted in them crying which alerted the Scottish army. There are 5 common thistles, bull thistle, musk thistle, Scotch thistle, distaff thistle, and Canada thistle.

Identification:

Thistle is covered in prickly leaves. This protects it from being eaten by wildlife. It often looks like dandelion leaves with spikes.

Flowers:

The flowers are most commonly seen as purple but they can also be yellow and white.

Butterflies:

The Painted Lady's host plant is thistle. After being laid on the plant and hatching, the caterpillars begin to eat the leaves. For more information on Painted Ladies go to the link below.

Painted Lady