They’re everywhere! What are those tall spiny plants with small fuzzy purple flowers growing up the stem, or larger round fuzzy flower heads at the top of their stems? Thistles. The ones with small ...

I can hardly resist the lure of flowering thistles. Initially, their pollinators attracted me, and later I was amused by the larvae of tortoise beetles that spool their feces around their forked tails ...

VAIL, Colorado – If there was a poster child for noxious weeds, thistles could do the job. They are easily noticed with big, pink flowers and sharp spines. They form dense colonies and can be found ...

Field thistle is not the kind of plant you usually find in a home garden. Yet, maybe it should. “Field thistle is very attractive to goldfinches, hummingbirds and clearwing moths,” says native plant ...

Thistles may be best known for their spiny leaves and stems. I think of them as going by the philosophy, “The best defense is a lot of sharp points,” like cactuses and roses. A thistle’s spines are ...