A name that needs no imagination. It’s very sharp, very short, and, well, very easy to lean into during a picnic.
Thistles can hurt, as all students of Scottish folklore know. If a party of Scottish soldiers really were alerted to a Norse invader by his anguished step upon a thistle, it wasn’t this species, which is only found in England and Wales. Even here, it has quite a localised distribution. It likes chalk or limestone meadows where grass has been kept short by grazing.
The North Downs have bones of chalk. Where the slopes have escaped modern agriculture, a dazzling variety of wild things grow. Field scabious peaks at this time of year, and here has been found by a marbled white butterfly.
Centaury continues the colour theme. It is named after Chiron, a centaur in Greek myth. Like pimpernel, it closes in uncertain weather.
It can have up to fifty flowers on a single plant. Scabious offers one, but grows in company.
And summer wanders on.
A Walk with Wildlife 
But quite lovely, too.
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I like picnic thistles. They’re not the most obvious wildflowers (unless you sit on them!) but they brighten up their little corner of the field all the same.
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Many of your plants are different from ours, but the thistle, we know. I didn’t know it would grow so short, after grazing, and still bloom. They sure have nasty prickles! Beautiful flower though.
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This is the baby of the thistle family. We actually have 14 species of thistle here, and the one you really don’t want to tangle with (and which probably tormented that poor Norseman of yore) is the spear thistle.
Thistles remind me of tigers: pretty, but you don’t want to pet them!
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You’ve got that right!
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Adele,
I appreciate you sharing your wanderings…. the marbled white is a beauty and Chiron is a company I represent so thanks for the association…keep wandering and we will keep wondering
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Thank you Tony! I was interested to hear that Chiron had given centaury its name. So many stories growing in the fields.
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Hi -I just enjoy what you have to share, report, thanks, I look forward to your emails & updates
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Thank you Angela 🙂
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You have such lovely meadows! I’m not a big fan of thistle, being thorn-averse, but our American Goldfinches love the seeds.
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🙂 I have grown more interested in thistles over the last year or so. They’re a surprisingly varied family.
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I love these wildflowers for their beauty and the insects they attract. Wonderful post, Adele!
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