Is it boring to have a post that’s just about thistles? Actually I don’t care- I’m doing it anyway. Thistles are such a part and parcel of our countryside that I don’t think many of us really spare them much thought- unless you’ve just stepped on one barefoot and are busy addressing it with a torrent of expletives. They’re definitely not something we seek out during wildflower season – which is funny, because we’re often interested by plants that have armed themselves to the teeth elsewhere.
On a recent walk through the Strumpshaw meadows I stopped at a marsh thistle whose buds had just started to flower. Each bud was covered in tiny aloe-like scales, the tip of each one dipped in rich burgundy; and they had tiny purple floof-tops that had not yet fully unfurled, which made them like perfect minituarised cacti. I was supposed to be looking for orchids, but I was smitten; and from that point all I could do that afternoon was find the next one.
We have a nice selection of thistle species in this country; and while I think the marsh thistle is the most beautiful, it was (what I think was) sow thistle that had the best insects. Many of the ones I came across had very own golden-bloomed grey-long horn beetle (Agapanthia villosoviridescens), a stem borer that can use thistles as larval food plants. With their hugely oversized antennae it’s fair to say that all longhorns are pretty charismatic, but these guys bolster their charm even further by having black and white stripy ‘socks’, and furry orange-tinged wing cases. Plus, as the last photo shows, they were clearly the inspiration for the 💁🏼♀️ emoji.
I did see orchids in the end- common-spotted, marsh and twayblade. They really were lovely- but for now, I think I’ll stick to thistles. There really is beauty in the beast.
