Drummond's Thistle

These beautiful native Thistles are rare here, so it's always a treat to come across one. Photographed this one at the Perrenoud Wildlife Habitat Area, NW of Calgary, on 27 July 2013. The Drummond's Thistle is a spectacular thistle species, with a low-to-the-ground rosette of leaves and large flowerheads. In Calgary, this species is rare - the only place where these native Thistles have been found is Weaselhead. Often, you find that the plant has a central flower surrounded by several others. The largest flower is always the one in the center of the group, and it has always finished blooming when the surrounding flower heads bloom.

DRUMMOND, THOMAS, naturalist; b. c. 1790 in Perthshire, Scotland; d. 1835, probably in March, in Havana, Cuba. See link below for full biography:

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