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Musk Thistle

Posted by
Steven (Chicagoland, United States) on 6 August 2020 in Plant & Nature and Portfolio.

Bracts completely surround and protect the flower of this musk thistle. As the flower blooms, the bracts will invert themselves revealing the flowering bloom within. See my shot of it in bloom HERE.

Musk thistle or nodding thistle (Carduus nutans) belongs to the sunflower family (Asteraceae). This species is a biennial generally requiring two years to complete its life cycle. These flowers are native to Europe and Asia, but are now a common agricultural pest throughout the United States and much of southern Canada. Musk thistle was introduced to North America in 1853. Throughout most of its range musk thistle is considered a noxious weed, but is sometimes cultivated in gardens for its showy flowers.

From the archives...........Captured at Illinois Beach State Park on June 9, 2012.

I'll be taking some time off to relax and re-energize. Confinement and lack of travel is wearing on me. I'll try to visit you until my return in September.

NIKON D7000 1/250 second F/8.0 ISO 914 52 mm

New photos posted on most Mondays through Thursdays.
All photos are copyrighted and may not be reproduced or distributed without my expressed, written consent.

Spotlight Images

Jypyä Pop from Turku, Finland

Looks quite exotic for me. Beautiful

6 Aug 2020 5:34am

Martine Girard from Brest, France

Joli mais ça doit piquer.

6 Aug 2020 5:35am

Claudine/canelle from Lorient, France

Magnifique !

6 Aug 2020 5:45am

jpla from Anjou, France

Jolis détails
JP

6 Aug 2020 6:35am

By Marie & L from Alpes du Dauphiné, France

I have never seen a thistle like these, they are magnificent, they look like erect sempervirum whereas in general this plant is rather horizontal.

6 Aug 2020 6:39am

Existence Artistique from Angers, France

bien ces pétales

6 Aug 2020 7:35am

grouser from Ludlow, United Kingdom

It looks great in this image with the wonderful bract patterns

6 Aug 2020 8:34am

Ana Lúcia from Leiria, Portugal

Nice shapes, color and light.

6 Aug 2020 8:42am

Anne from France

Très beau

6 Aug 2020 9:00am

Hiro from Kyoto, Japan

I like the both before and after blooming

6 Aug 2020 11:04am

Shaun from Massachusetts, United States

The detail is just superb on this great shot Steven. 5*

6 Aug 2020 11:22am

mauro brando from Maurania, Mauritius

Wow amazing pict thanks! Stunning

6 Aug 2020 2:00pm

Ruthiebear from Titusville, NJ, United States

I like the superb details

6 Aug 2020 2:11pm

Rose from United States

Love this! I can never resist thistle...

6 Aug 2020 2:37pm

Gérard Flayol from Château-Gombert, Marseille, France

Beautiful flowers with no colour other than that of the stems and leaves

6 Aug 2020 3:09pm

Devi from Chennai, India

This in iteself looks like a green petaled flower!! Saw the real flower too by clicking your link :))))

6 Aug 2020 3:21pm

Dreams come true from Utrecht, Netherlands

I love this photo and de different green colors .
Gorgeous framing and photo .
Thank you for the star's and your comment with me photo .

6 Aug 2020 4:11pm

willy from Belgium

de bien jolies tonalités de vert Steven

greetings

6 Aug 2020 4:48pm

B. Thomas from Arlington, Texas, United States

Thanks for the link to see it in bloom. It looks like a completely different plant here.

6 Aug 2020 5:04pm

Mhelene from Villiers-sur-Marne, France

Very beautiful composition and superb nuances of the green color .

6 Aug 2020 5:14pm

omid from mashhad, Iran

Amazing & lovely!

6 Aug 2020 6:24pm

Michael Rawluk from Williams Lake, BC, Canada

Absolutely gorgeous.

6 Aug 2020 6:56pm

tataray from Charentes-Poitou, France

Superbes et fleuris ça me fait penser à des artichauts !....
Peu ordinaires.

6 Aug 2020 6:58pm

mo.langel from Courtelary, Switzerland

Excellent capture and beautiful green flowers!

6 Aug 2020 7:19pm

Don from Spokane, United States

A wonderful detailed close up of these thistles.

6 Aug 2020 7:47pm

Ralf Kesper from Fröndenberg, Germany

Superbe composition. Top in highformat.

6 Aug 2020 9:08pm

véronique cherpantier from sauveterre de guyenne, France

j'avais pense à des artichauts , jolie prise

6 Aug 2020 9:17pm

Diane from Parksville, Canada

This is absolutely beautiful. A work of art really isn't it? I've never ever seen a photo like this of milk thistle. I'd be tempted to allow a few to grow in my own yard if they happened to 'crop up'.

6 Aug 2020 10:08pm

Diane from Parksville, Canada

I did mean 'musk' but as soon as I saw my comment, I thought, what ... anyway, I still think it's a work of art.

6 Aug 2020 10:10pm

Harry from Apex, NC, United States

nice background control to help these multi-petaled green flowers stand out

6 Aug 2020 11:42pm

Elaine Hancock from Olney, United States

This is a very interesting plant. Thank you for including the after image with it in bloom. It has a beautiful flower. It is a shame that it is considered a pest and a weed. Beautiful image.

7 Aug 2020 12:47am

jeanmadis from Chonburi, Thailand

Qui m'incite à la caresse... du regard seulement !
Merci pour les informations jointes à propos de ce beau spécimen de chardon quelque peu envahissant.

7 Aug 2020 1:37am

Darkelf Photography from Perth, Australia

Fantastic spiky details. They look just wonderful.

7 Aug 2020 4:00am

Urspo from Phoenix, United States

These are triffids

7 Aug 2020 4:03am

Ginnie Hart from Netherlands

It's as good, if not better, than any flower blossom, Steven! I've always been intrigued by thistles.

7 Aug 2020 5:28am

Remus from Portugal

The detail is just perfect Steven.
Wonderful capture.

7 Aug 2020 2:28pm

Lougris from Toulouse, France

Un superbe clin d'oeil au monde des fractales !!

8 Aug 2020 10:33am

jean pierre from Paris, France

magnifique!!

8 Aug 2020 1:44pm

The Yum List from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Ooh, are those green petals or part of a cactus like plant?

9 Aug 2020 6:50am

fateme@@ from Dezful, Iran

Such a powerful image. Great.

9 Aug 2020 9:22pm

Elizabeth Buckalew from Flagstaff, United States

This is beautiful!, I really love how you've composed this image, Steven!

10 Aug 2020 4:06am

fereshteh. from Iran

like it.
So beautiful

10 Aug 2020 7:05am

sherri from Little Rock, Arkansas, United States

Ooo, that is beautiful

10 Aug 2020 9:37pm

Nadine from Le Sud......, France

superbe cliché - j'aime beaucoup

13 Aug 2020 3:53pm

omar from Hamburg, Germany

I love this plant, you made an excellent shot, yep

14 Aug 2020 10:57am

Phil Morris from Saskatoon, Toronto, NYC, Canada

Gorgeous capture as only you can do for nature, the greenery has perfect definition and highlights, so beautiful.

16 Aug 2020 3:44pm

yoshimiparis from France

nature makes art

17 Aug 2020 6:57am

Joëlle from France

Très beau, me fait penser à de l'artichaut... belle journée à toi Steven, amitiés

17 Aug 2020 11:23am

Roland Theys from gerpinnes, Belgium

Hello, wonderful photo!

18 Aug 2020 9:59pm

Ralf Kesper from Fröndenberg, Germany

Nice photo. Really rich en detail.

22 Aug 2020 11:14am

tataray from Charentes-Poitou, France

Hello. Merci de tes passages et continues à te reposer....

22 Aug 2020 5:08pm

By Marie Photographies from Massif de la Chartreuse, France

Hello, Steven. I no longer post on Wordpress, I reactivated my space on Aminus3 which will be easier for you and my old aminusian friends. See you soon.

23 Aug 2020 8:32am

yoshimiparis from France

Brrrrrr better not to rub against this kind of plant, beautifully photographed

24 Aug 2020 6:41am

rem_la from Villiers, France

tres belle présentation

24 Aug 2020 5:55pm

Calusarus from Valence, France

Very nice …sharpen on this plan. Cheers

25 Aug 2020 6:15am

The Yum List from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This plant looks familiar. Have you photographed it before?

25 Aug 2020 8:47am

@The Yum List: I haven't been posting new photos since this photo was posted on August 6th and you have already posted a comment on this photo back on August 9th. :-)

Harry from Apex, NC, United States

September approaches - hope you are succeeding at your re-energization (is that a word?). LOL

27 Aug 2020 11:42pm

Sam from Chennai, India

Beautiful image. Amazing details and lovely colours. Superb. :)

31 Aug 2020 6:49pm

Maryse from Bordeaux, France

elle ressemble à la fleur d'artichaut quand elle est fleurie !
Repose-toi bien et à bientôt

31 Aug 2020 9:03pm

CrashRyan from New Jersey/NYC area, United States

A perfect shot! Great focusing.

1 Sep 2020 2:44pm

tataray from Charentes-Poitou, France

Bonsoir. Merci de tes fidèles passages.
J'espère que tu vas bien et nous remettre de jolies images comme tu sais si bien les faire.
Prends soin de toi.

4 Sep 2020 7:00pm

@tataray: Salutations, Raymonde! Je reviendrai lundi. Je vous verrai ensuite. Merci beaucoup!