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Creeping Thistle

Creeping Thistle

Cirsium arvense

Identify the Creeping Thistle from a photo and log your finds with Florapass.

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How common: Very common

Creeping Thistle is a tall, prickly thistle that spreads by creeping roots and often forms dense patches. It bears many small purple‑pink, sweet‑scented flower heads in branched clusters. You’ll see it widely on disturbed ground such as fields, roadsides and rough grassland.

Did you know?

  • Male and female flowers grow on separate plants.
  • Its seeds ride the wind on white fluff and can travel far.

About the species

Identification

40–120 cm tall, forming patches from deep, creeping roots. Stems upright, firm and grooved, smooth below, much branched and slightly cobwebby near the top; no spines and not edged with spiny ridges. Leaves sit directly on the stem and often clasp it a little; thick, narrow‑oval, usually deeply cut with sharp prickly edges; top mostly smooth, underside often slightly hairy. Many small oval heads (1.5–3 cm) in open clusters at the tips; purple‑pink and sweet‑scented; male and female on separate plants. Later, small brown seeds with long silky fluff. Differs from other thistles by its almost spineless stems and many small heads in branched clusters. Flowers in Finland from July to September.

Plant group

Herbaceous plants

Habitat

yards and roadsides

Flowering

Jul–Sep

About the habitat

Common on disturbed, nutrient‑rich soils: fields and fallows, roadsides, waste ground, meadows and shores; thrives in deep clays, sands and loams. Common in southern and central Finland; rare in Lapland.

Sources

Photo: Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cirsium arvense - põldohakas.jpg

Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki leviäimet, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39890

Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki versot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39890

Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Itämeri: rantapensaikot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39890

Text: Pinkka: IPS-153 Flora of Subarctic Europe - Carex-Cirsium, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39890

Text: Pinkka: Ålandsexkursion, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39890

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelto-ohdake

See also