Milk thistle flowerhead

Thistledown a method of seed dispersal by wind. The tiny seeds are a favorite of goldfinches and some other small birds.

Thistle is the common name of a polyphyletic group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp spines or prickles on the margins, mostly in the plant family Asteraceae. Their prickles often occur all over the plant, including on the stem and flat parts of the leaf. These are an adaptation protecting against herbivorous animals, discouraging them from feeding on the plant. Prickles can be a nuisance when walking barefoot, one motivation for wearing suitable footwear when outdoors. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 534 pixel Image in higher resolution (1600 × 1067 pixel, file size: 292 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Milk Thistle flowerhead, taken by a river in Swifts Creek, Victoria If you are a (commercial) publisher and you want me to write... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 534 pixel Image in higher resolution (1600 × 1067 pixel, file size: 292 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Milk Thistle flowerhead, taken by a river in Swifts Creek, Victoria If you are a (commercial) publisher and you want me to write... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 514 pixel Image in higher resolution (1800 × 1157 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 514 pixel Image in higher resolution (1800 × 1157 pixel, file size: 1. ... Thistledown is: The soft feathery material which protects the fruiting part of a thistle. ... Biological dispersal refers to those processes by which a species maintains or expands the distribution of a population. ... Species Many, see text The genus Carduelis is a large group of birds in the finch family Fringillidae. ... In phylogenetics, a taxon is polyphyletic (Greek for of many races) if the trait its members have in common evolved separately in different places in the phylogenetic tree. ... It has been suggested that Angiospermae, and Anthophyta be merged into this article or section. ... Foliage redirects here. ... Diversity About 1500 genera and 23,000 species Type Genus Aster L. Subfamilies Barnadesioideae Cichorioideae Tribe Arctotidae Tribe Cardueae Tribe Eremothamneae Tribe Lactuceae Tribe Liabeae Tribe Mutisieae Tribe Tarchonantheae Tribe Vernonieae Asteroideae Tribe Anthemideae Tribe Astereae Tribe Calenduleae Tribe Eupatorieae Tribe Gnaphalieae Tribe Helenieae Tribe Heliantheae Tribe Inuleae Tribe Plucheae... A biological adaptation is an anatomical structure, physiological process or behavioral trait of an organism that has evolved over a period of time by the process of natural selection such that it increases the expected long-term reproductive success of the organism. ...

The thistle, in particular Onopordum acanthium (the cotton thistle or Scotch thistle), is the national flower of Scotland, and is featured in many Scottish symbols and logos. Legend has it that a Viking attacker stepped on one at night and cried out, so alerting the defenders of a Scottish castle. Cotton thistle Categories: Plant stubs | Asteraceae ... A national emblem is a symbol that represents a nation. ... Motto: (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots2 Government  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - UK Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by Kenneth I 843  Area    - Total 78,772 km... The term Viking commonly denotes the ship-borne explorers, traders, and warriors of the Norsemen (literally, men from the north) who originated in Scandinavia and raided the coasts of the British Isles, France and other parts of Europe as far east as the Volga River in Russia from the late...

Genera in the Asteraceae with the word thistle often used in their common names include:

• Arctium – Burdock
• Carduus – Thistle
• Carlina – Carline thistle
• Centaurea – Star thistle
• Cicerbita – Sow thistle
• Cirsium – Thistle
• Cnicus – Blessed thistle
• Cynara – Artichokes, Cardoon thistle
• Echinops – Globethistle
• Notobasis – Syrian thistle
• Onopordum – Cotton thistle, also known as Scotch thistle
• Scolymus – Golden thistle or oyster thistle
• Silybum – Milk thistle
• Sonchus – Sow thistle

Plants in families other than Asteraceae which are sometimes called thistle include: Species Arctium lappa A. minus   A. minus nemorosum A. pubens A. tomentosum Burdock refers to any of a group of perennial flowering plants thistles in the Genus Arctium, family Asteraceae. ... Species A. lappa Burdock refers to any of a group of biennial thistles in the genus Arctium, family Asteraceae. ... Species See text Carduus is a genus of about 90 species of thistles in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe, Asia and Africa. ... Carline thistle Categories: Plant stubs | Asteraceae ... Carline thistle Categories: Plant stubs | Asteraceae ... Species Around 350-500 species; see text Centaurea is a genus of about 350-500 species of herbaceous thistles and thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, mostly native to the Old World. ... Categories: Plant stubs | Asteraceae ... Species See text Thistles are perennial flowering plants of the genus Cirsium. ... Binomial name Cnicus benedictus L. Cnicus benedictus (Blessed Thistle), the sole species in the genus Cnicus, is a thistle-like plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, from Portugal north to southern France and east to Turkey. ... Binomial name Cnicus benedictus L. Cnicus benedictus (Blessed Thistle), the sole species in the genus Cnicus, is a thistle-like plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, from Portugal north to southern France and east to Turkey. ... Species Cynara alba Cynara algarbiensis Cynara auranitica Cynara baetica Cynara cardunculus Cynara cornigera Cynara cyrenaica Cynara humilis Cynara hystrix Cynara scolymus Cynara syriaca Note that this list may include some synonyms Cynara is a genus of about 10 species of thistle-like perennials in the family Asteraceae, originally from the... Artichokes are three types of vegetables. ... Species About 120 species, including: Echinops adenocaulos Echinops bannaticus Echinops chantavicus Echinops exaltatus Echinops giganteus Echinops gmelinii Echinops graecus Echinops humilis Echinops latifolius Echinops nivens Echinops orientalis Echinops ritro Echinops ruthenicus Echinops sphaerocephalus Echinops spinosissimus Echinops tournefortii Echinops tschimganicus Echinops is a genus of about 120 species of thistles in... Globethistle Categories: Plant stubs | Asteraceae ... Binomial name Notobasis syriaca (L.) Cass. ... Binomial name Notobasis syriaca (L.) Cass. ... Species See text Onopordum is a genus of about 50 species of thistles belonging to the sunflower family (Asteraceae). ... Cotton thistle Categories: Plant stubs | Asteraceae ... Golden thistle Categories: Plant stubs | Asteraceae ... Golden thistle Categories: Plant stubs | Asteraceae ... Species Silybum eburneum Silybum marianum Silybum × gonzaloi Ref: IPNI Query The milk thistles are the genus Silybum of flowering plants, in the daisy family (Asteraceae). ... Milk Thistle is a plant, Silybum marianus of the family Compositaea is a fairly typical Thistle, red to purple flowers, it has shiny pale green leaves with white veins. ... Species Sonchus asper (spiny sow thistle) Sonchus arvensis (field or perennial sow thistle) Sonchus dregeanus Sonchus integrifolius Sonchus nanus Sonchus oleraceus (common sow thistle) Sonchus wilmsii (milk thistle) Sow thistle (less commonly hare thistle or hare lettuce) is the common name for a number of related annual herbs in the...

• Salsola – Saltwort, tumbleweed or Russian thistle (family Amaranthaceae)

A Thistle Sailboat (dinghy) is a 17' sloop designed for famly fun and racing... see the Thistle Class Association website and Thistle (dinghy). Species About 100-130 species; see text Salsola (Saltwort*, Tumbleweed or Russian thistle) is a genus of herbs, subshrubs, shrubs and small trees in the family Amaranthaceae, native to Africa, Asia, and Europe. ... Type Genus Amaranthus L. Subfamilies Amaranthoideae Chenopodioideae Gomphrenoideae Salicornioideae Salsoloideae The flowering plant family Amaranthaceae, the Amaranth family, contains about 160 genera and 2,400 species. ...