The Cotton or Scotch thistle (Onopordum acanthium): Orderly spikes wrapped up in cotton wool
High Pass Edge Filtered
It is all too easy to end up shedding blood when handling this plant!
But it is worth it for this glory held high in the sky …
Beware, it is a giant (~3m with a bit of a tendency to catch the wind and tilt inconveniently)
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Frogend dweller's Blog 
Beautiful
Thanks
It’s pretty and I bet the bees and birds love it, but I don’t think I’ll be inviting it into my garden. 😉
Lol. Me neither! (I grow them at Wimpole)
I just read the name of this recently. I’d never seen one — the cottony “stuff” is fascinating.
Yes, it looks suspiciously regular for a chaotic jumble I think
Very interesting thistle for sure. I have a couple of different species on the farm and always like their flowers. One of them, I can’t remember the name at the moment, with silvery blue leaves is really neat. But of course here on the farm thistles can become a big problem. No matter if I get rid of all of them one year, they are back in full force the next.
They definitely have global domination tendencies and not much willing to brave pain to limit them. When you see the seeds floating away in clouds you know you are in for more trouble. Do you use a flailer?
So lovely
Thanks