Cirsium scopulorum, July 8, 2020
Common & scientific name
Mountain thistle, Cirsium scopulorum
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Twining Peak, 12,800’ & upper Lost Man, 12,500
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
These dramatic, native thistles (yes—not all thistles are “bad” non-natives!) have thorny edged leaves and flowers (disk florets only) cushioned by a downy mass of fine hair. You can be assured it’s a native species because you will never see it taking over a mountainside—it grows in balance with and amongst our several hundred other subalpine and alpine species of plants, and is loved by pollinators.
C. scopulorum, July 23, 2020