Carline Thistle (Carlina vulgaris) is a member of the Daisy Family and is a short, stiff and spiny monocarpic perennial plant. It has a brownish yellow flower head with straw coloured petals surrounding it. The dead flowers often retain the same appearance meaning they can sometimes be found late into the winter season.
Carline Thistle makes a great ornamental plant, the capitula only opens on sunny days, this closes at night time and stays shut on days when it is raining. This plant is pollinated by insects, mainly the Bumblebee, but it can also self pollinate. The seeds are distriubuted by the wind and needs a short, open sward to allow them to establish themselves.
This plants distinctive brown and gold flower heads that look similar to that of the Daisy, continueto look like a Daisym ven when it is dying or the seeds have gone.This is actually a group of flower heads consisting of tiny, brown flowers wurrounded by the fringe of golden coloured leaf like structures.
Height: 10 – 50cm
Flowering Time: May to Sept
Preferred Conditions: Dry, infertile, calcareous meadows and roadside verges. 