|
|
|
Cirsium vulgare
 |
|
| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Often you see the nice purple flower but when it produces seeds they shine like silk in the sun.
De Speerdistel (Cirsium vulgare) met zijn karakteristieke bladvorm. Komt vooral voor op stikstofrijke of overbemeste bodem. De plant kan 150 cm groot worden. Bloeitijd juni - september.
The spear thistle is a tall thistle, with a long tap-root. Young plants form rosettes of bristly leaves that have a downy upper surface; rosettes persist for around 1 year before flowering stems are produced. These flowering stems are cottony, deeply furrowed and have spiny 'wings', they support deeply lobed and spiny leaves. The large purple flower heads are 3-5 cm long and 2-5 cm across and are arranged in clusters.
Extremely widespread, being found throughout Europe, reaching as far north as Scandinavia. It is also known in western Asia and North Africa, and has been introduced to North America and Chile.
This thistle thrives in a wide variety of habitats, such as rough grassland, overgrazed pasture, dunes, and sea-cliffs. It also occurs in fertile habitats subject to disturbance, including waste ground, arable fields, spoil heaps, and on burned areas of woodland. As it has been discovered in pre-Neolithic deposits, it seems that spear-thistle does not require human disturbance to prosper.
The spear thistle is a plant that live for at least three seasons; after an initial period they produce flowers once a year. Seedlings appear from autumn to April and they do not begin to flower until their second year of growth. Flowers are produced from July to September, and are pollinated by long-tongued bees, hover-flies and butterflies. After the seeds have been produced, the flowering stems die back. |
PDP, AndyB, gerhardt has marked this note useful
Only registered TrekNature members may rate photo notes. |
|
|
| Discussions |
| None | | You must be logged in to start a discussion. |
|
- AndyB
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1586 W: 32 N: 1350]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-s-g.gif)
(3980) - [2004-08-31 18:07]
-
A lovely and very well composed shot.
Excellent colours,sharp detail and great DoF.
Good framing and an excellent note.
Very well done.
-
- PDP
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2951 W: 366 N: 3779]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(11763) - [2004-09-01 4:33]
-
This is a splendid photo of a plant that features in many of the insect shots here. It's great that you have chosen to feature it as the star rather than a supporting role. The colours are vibrant and very good composition. Good work.
A splendid composition. The frame works well and the different POV on the two flowers give one an excellent portrait. Thanx for sharing.
![Silver Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 39 W: 1 N: 68]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/s-n-g.gif){kind=small}