Welted Thistle Carduus crispus Feochadán reangach Family: Asteraceae Flowering time: June-August. Biennial. Native. The red-purple flowerheads are solitary or in clusters of 3-5, bracts weakly spine-tipped. Achenes have simple pappus hairs. The spiny leaves are cottony underneath, oblong-lanceolate and pinnate, the lobes 3-lobed. Stems are erect and branched with narrow, wavy, spine-tipped wings except below the flower-heads. Height 30-120cm. Occasional and local in the east of Ireland on banks and wasteground Similar: Slender Thistle, Carduus tenuiflorus

Welted Thistle, Carduus crispus, Feochadán reangach