Creeping Thistle Cirsium arvense Feochadán reatha Family: Asteraceae Flowering time: July-September. Perennial. Native. Short-stalked pink-mauve flowers, sometimes white. Bracts spine-tipped. Deeply pinnate, grey-green leaves, toothed lobes. Margins very prickly. Creeping, spreading rootstock. Erect un-winged stems. Height: To 100cm. Roadsides, waste-ground, grassland, arable land. Can be very invasive. Abundant throughout Ireland.

    
Photographs above: Creeping Thistle. Ballingeary, Co.Cork. September and July 2007