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The carline thistle belongs to the Compositae (daisy) family. In Estonia three subspecies of it, difficult to distinguish, grow, and carline thistle seeds are also sold by garden centres and with reason. In nature it grows on calcareous soils, on alvars, in sparse forests; it grows up to a metre tall and resembles a common thistle seen from far off.

 

The inflorescences (capitula) are golden yellow in different shades and straw-like; it has spiny stems and its decorative value is appreciated in flower arrangements and garden bed compositions. It is interesting to study from a distance as well as  closely. In winter the dried flowers and stems shine in the frost.

 

In the group of colleagues and students of famous Swedish botanist Carl von Linné experiments were made with plant “barometers“, and among them also the carline thistle – in rain the flower closes...

 

Carline thistle