Saturday, July 16, 2011

Globe Thistle, Echinops sphaerocephalus

Ever seen a blue thistle? Neither have I! This one got my attention as I wandered the backroads on a beautiful summer day. It's unusual in having tiny flower clusters, or heads, aggregated into larger spherical clusters - in other words, primary and secondary heads. It's a weed, but learning a new plant is always enjoyable. This colony is in St. Joseph County, Indiana.

Summer... I love it!

2 comments:

Scott Namestnik said...

This species was in the garden in our backyard when we moved into the house we used to live in on the south side of South Bend. I'd never seen it before.

lkalmat said...

I saw this plant being cultivated in a garden in Toronto in a place called Castle Loma. I took pictures of it because I found it to be a very distinktive looking plant. It think around the time the garden was built, it was a popular plan to have.