Beautiful but prickly
I think the thistle is beautiful and it always comes as a bit of a surprise that it comes with such a prickly and fearsome plant. As a defence against grazing animals that might be attracted it works a treat. I certainly wouldn’t want to munch on it. I know insects love it though.
Views From A Small Island 
And there is such a variety too! The Scot’s know best. 😉
Ummm – I wouldn’t munch on it either. : )
It makes for a great picture, though!
Thanks.
They are beautiful. Will sheep eat thistles? I think there are some animals that don’t mind them ???
I know some animals eat them such as goats but not sure what else. They must have incredibly tough guts.
Indeed. I am sure it is a food of last resort. Once they have feasted on someone’s prize flower garden, for example. On the internet, I see a few recipes for thistle soup but the preparation of the thistles for cooking seems arduous.
There are many wild plants worth trying as food but thistle is definitely not one for me. Nettles are also not on my list. I quite like dandelions. I’m told it’s a ‘super food’, which must be why the tortoise does so well on it.
Oh bother! I saw some dandelions today. I should have picked them and had them for supper. I would like to thrive like your tortoise 🙂
If you try them, go for the small fresh ones.
Okay, thanks. The ones I saw were large.
I forgot; I eat the small leaves not the flower but I understand you can eat that too but I’m not sure how.
I will keep an eye out for the smaller leaves.
Nice shot of an under appreciated plant.
Thank you.