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| Canada Thistle; Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. |
Sunflower Family; COMPOSITÆ (ASTERACEÆ)
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| Canada Thistle is a perennial herb from the Old World,
not Canada; unquestionably the worst weed of all thistles.
Ruthlessly aggressive, it makes most weeds look comparatively tame. |
| Unlike most thistles, it spreads chiefly by a horizontal root system, rankly forming large coarse colonies. Investigators report
roots as deep as 22 feet, and the extent of patches in the country must be measured by acres. |
| Winter somehow kills the spiny stalks and leaves, making them withered, brown and dead. But spring resurrects soft greenery
from the restless roots, and upward with vigor and determination grow the stems. As my photos show, the leaves vary in spininess. In June appear the first dull purplish-pink (rarely white)
flowers. July and August are the main flowering months; a few persist into late October. Male and female flowers are on separate plants. The
female stems, sometimes towering over six feet tall, become in late summer plumes of dirty-looking cottony seed-heads: thistle down. |
| This viciously prickly, hateful ugly bully grows in fields, meadows, by and under freeways, tolerating wretchedly impoverished,
dry ground, and partial shade. It is extremely troublesome to control. It is practically useless to humans; despite for some reason being
known by French and Italian vernacular names as Hemorrhoidal Thistle, it has no medicinal value worth the time of day. The tender young
shoots are admittedly edible, but nowhere near as good as many other edible weeds. |
| Painted Lady butterflies and other insects are attracted to its nectar, and Goldfinches find thistle seeds a favorite food. |
English names include: Field Thistle, Creeping Thistle, Cursed Thistle, and California Thistle. The meanings of thistle in the
Language of Flowers are defiantly appropriate: austerity; independence. Canada Thistle alone may be totally summed up with the one
word "abominable!" Yet in reply the weed surely sneers, proudly confident in its strength and tenacity. Though we cannot beat, nor like, nor
use the damn thing, we must at least respect it as a formidable foe.
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Originally published as the Seattle Tilth newsletter Weed of the Month in August 1987, along with an illustration drawn by Jerri Geer.
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