Thistles

[Lori S.]

Here's my favourite of our native thistles, Cirsium hookerianum - Hooker's thistle.  
It was not yet in bloom up on Forgetmenot Ridge yesterday, but here is a close-up of the buds (along with the biggest shield bug I've ever seen - about 3/8ths of an inch across!)

[Hoy]

Weiser, what have elks to do with hat showy thistle? They don't eat it?

Lori, a nice one to sit upon when you rest! Is monocarpic or perennial?

[Lori S.]

Actually, I prefer cushion cacti (Escobaria vivipara) for sitting down to rest... it seems to be the best way to find them, too! 
Hooker's thistle is said to be biennial.

[Hoy]

I remember once in Ecuador (or was it the Atlas mountains) I sat down on a green spot among sharp rocks. I jumped several feet when the green spot stung like wasps in my buttock, the green spot was a tight-grown plant with long, sharp needles. Since I have always examined where I put the lower parts of my body.

[Lori S.]

Where to post, where to post?  Well, I guess these are thistles...

Carlina acaulis, now open... with two bees that seem to be cuddling for warmth in our (so-often of late) cool, rainy weather!

[McDonough]

Where to post, where to post?  Well, I guess these are thistles...

Carlina acaulis, now open... with two bees that seem to be cuddling for warmth in our (so-often of late) cool, rainy weather!

A striking specimen!  It almost makes me want to relax my no-spiny-plants-in-the-garden-because-I-hate-getting-jabbed-rule Here we're getting very cool nights now, and the bees appear glued to the flowers each night and well into the morning until things warm up.

[Hoy]

A striking specimen!  It almost makes me want to relax my no-spiny-plants-in-the-garden-because-I-hate-getting-jabbed-rule Here we're getting very cool nights now, and the bees appear glued to the flowers each night and well into the morning until things warm up.

Now I wonder, Mark. What do you call very cool nights? Here the nights are still 55-60F.

Bumblebees tolerate much colder weather than honeybees. Here bumblebees can be seen flying even if the temp is lower than 10C/50F. But these days I have more hoverflies in the flowers than either bumblebees or honeybees.

[McDonough]

Now I wonder, Mark. What do you call very cool nights? Here the nights are still 55-60F.

Bumblebees tolerate much colder weather than honeybees. Here bumblebees can be seen flying even if the temp is lower than 10C/50F. But these days I have more hoverflies in the flowers than either bumblebees or honeybees.

Into the low fifties range, was 52 F this morning.  Today it is cloudy and cold, what an about face from all of the endless +90 F days, going running soon to contemplate the garden and introduce some clever dancing jig into my running style to appease the rain gods, as it is still dust-dry here even though cool temperatures.

[Lori S.]

It was 0.9 deg C here overnight, according to a weather station in this neighborhood.  I believe what would be considered the "official" temperature, at the airport, was 2 deg C.  Brrr...

[Hoy]

Into the low fifties range, was 52 F this morning.  Today it is cloudy and cold, what an about face from all of the endless +90 F days, going running soon to contemplate the garden and introduce some clever dancing jig into my running style to appease the rain gods, as it is still dust-dry here even though cool temperatures.

Low fifties is not uncommon here even in summer! Hope the rain dance works for you. I don't need to, plenty of rain here the next days.

It was 0.9 deg C here overnight, according to a weather station in this neighborhood.  I believe what would be considered the "official" temperature, at the airport, was 2 deg C.  Brrr...

That's what I call cool! Hope we don't experience that low before end October!

[Booker]

A thistle pictured in Turkey ... a lovely thing.

[McDonough]

A thistle pictured in Turkey ... a lovely thing.

Cliff, that's one dangerous brute... I'm glad they haven't invented 3D JPG images yet, I would've poked my eye out on that one.  These spiny things do have amazing geometric detail, glad I can enjoy their visual intrigue on a forum rather than in the garden.  Do you know what genus-species it is?

[RickR]

And they dry very nicely...

Silybum marianum

[Booker]

Lovely image Rick.

Sorry Mark, I don't know the identity, but have attached some more images in case anyone is able to christen it (or the identity of the yellow thistle in Thistle 7)?

[McDonough]

For Malcolm  :

I came across this Cretan endemic, Onopordum bracteatum ssp. creticum, on the "Visit West Crete" tourist web site.  Some stunning close-up views of the flowers with intricate detail:
http://www.west-crete.com/flowers/onopordum_bracteatum.htm

And a strange dwarf Centaurea idaea, also endemic:
http://www.west-crete.com/flowers/centaurea_idaea.htm