Purple Thistle

I believe this is Cirsium arvense, one of many types of purple thistle. (It could also be Cirsium altissium).
For a moment, I thought these were a flower I had never seen. Most thisles grow upright, but after strong winds and rain, this outcrop was bent over.
For a different variety of purple thistle see: http://idarkansas.blogspot.com/2008/05/purple-thistle.html




Info to be added

All pics, mid September 2008

Purple Thistle

Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Carduoideae
Tribe: Cynareae
Genus: Cirsium





I do not yet know what species of thistle this is, though it belongs to the genus "Cirsium", which includes a wide variety of thistles. All pics, early June, 2005 Northern Arkansas.


(9/23/08) It would appear that this is Carduus nutans, or a "Musk Thistle." For a different variety of purple thistle see: http://idarkansas.blogspot.com/2008/09/purple.html




Variant Species (we have these here, but these are from Nebraska, July 05)