Thistle and Bee

This little one thought it was hiding out from me while I got my thistle and bees images. Ah, to be young...


The thistles in my yard are constantly visited. These blossoms must be laden with pollen as each bee spends a good deal of time on a single blossom. And sometimes, there's enough for two or even three.






As the blossoms go to seed, the bulb spreads open to release loads of fluffiness. Goldfinches cautiously approached for the seed but never close enough for photos.







And here's a little video of the bees in action.

Thistle and Bee from John Perry on Vimeo.

Bull Thistle

With the heavy, wind-driven rains of a few weeks back, a patch of Bull Thistle went flat to the ground. I considered righting the victims but have you ever tried touching any part of this plant? Without my help, they are getting along just fine.

Bull Thistle

Here are some basal leaves of what I think is the biennial Bull Thistle. So far I've found that the thistle species are easiest to identify by their flowers. (My guides don't display basal leaves. Are they any different from second year leaves?) These leaves are sprouting in the same area as this year's flowering Bulls so I think it's a good guess.

Email Subsscibers: I'm not sure why Friday morning's email delivery didn't occur. Here's hoping Saturday's feed gets out both posts.

Bull Thistle

Bull Thistle, Circium vulgare, looks like the thorniest of the local thistles. Aren't plants just so amazing? I mean, the diversity in leaves, stems, and flowers is so incredible. Why does our world produce such variety?

This species is a biennial and reminds me of the growth pattern of mullein--first year basal rosette and second year full blown plant that we see here.

By the way, this species goes way back to one of the very first posts.