Cirsium – Thistles

Mostly native to Eurasia and northern Africa, with about 60 species from North America, Cirsium (Thistle) is a genus of perennial and biennial flowering plants with spiny, often handsome, leaves and effusive, thistle-like flower heads, usually purple, rose or pink, also yellow or white. Some species are cultivated in gardens and wildflower plantings for their aesthetic value and/or to support pollinators such as butterflies. Easy to grow, thistles are striking in the middle or as a backdrop to other flowers in the garden and provide some height in late spring and summer. Where happy, they will self-seed with abandon.