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| Species of the Month - July 2014 Melancholy Thistle Cirisum heterophyllum
Melancholy Thistle is
easily told from other thistles as it is not a prickly plant. The
stem completely lacks spines, and the leaves are edged with soft spines
that you can easily crush in your hand without pain. The underside
of the leaves is covered with a dense white felt.
The plant
is widespread but not common. It occurs on road verges, heathery
moorland and damp grassland, sometimes in large patches. It can
occasionally be found in woods, where it often doesn't flower but can be
recognised by the distinctive leaves.
The
basal leaves are long-stalked and can be very large. The upper
stem leaves are stalkless and surround the stem with large basal lobes
(auricles).
Melancholy Thistle grows to about 1 metre tall and the flowers are about 5-6 cm across. The only similar British plant is Meadow Thistle, which is not known from our area though it occurs in Kintyre and Islay. It has flowers only half the size of Melancholy Thistle and grows in wet peat.
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Carl Farmer
1 July: Judith reports lots of it
flowering at Drimfern and Ladyfield in Glen Aray and along the nearby
roadside and riverbank.
23 July: Pat Batty found some near Kilmelford.
20 Aug: Found by Jan near A82 on Rannoch Moor.
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