Spear thistle, Black thistle, Bull thistle, Scotch thistle (Honey bee plants of Hawaii, United States)

Spear thistle, Black thistle, Bull thistle, Scotch thistle

Cirsium vulgare

Summary ⁶

Pollen: High 20.95-31.7% Crude protien
Nectar:Low

July to September. Newfoundland, west to British Columbia.
In waste places, clearings, pastures, fields, and along
roadsides. Introduced; a native of Eurasia. (Crompton, C. W., & Wojtas, W. A. (1993). Pollen grains of Canadian honey plants)

Flowering time 11-4, 1-3 Eurasia. From coast to Highveld of WC, EC, KZN, FS, northern provinces. Leaves and flower heads are very spiny. A biennial of pastures and roadsides. Produces pink to mauve flowers in its second year. Pellets white to light olive to light olive-grey; crude protein 31.7% (Australia). Occasional Cirsium honeys in North America, Australia, and Eurasia. (Johannsmeier, M. F. (2016). Beeplants of South Africa: Sources of Nectar, Pollen, Honeydew and Propolis for Honeybees)

July-October A biennial species naturalize from Europe, generally found in pastures. Flowers remarkably sweet-scented, rich in honey, and fertilized mostly by the bumble bees (often becoming intoxicated) and butterflies. 2-4 feet high. Common throughout N.Am. (Schuyler, M. F. (1955). Field Book of American Wild Flowers)

Sources and Credits

(c) Ivar Leidus, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bombus_veteranus_-_Cirsium_vulgare_-_Keila1.jpg
(c) Sciadopitys, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cirsium_vulgare_Harthope.jpg
(c) the weed one, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_weed_one/7499382080/
(c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Speerdistel_vrucht.jpg
Oceancetaceen - Alice Chodura, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cirsium_vulgare_ssp_vulgare.jpg
(c) Megan W., some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

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