Imagine you are an animal grazing in a pasture. When you get near bull thistle your mouth, gums and face get poked with their long spines, not much fun to eat. Here is a pasture that has been grazed but for the bull thistle:
Seedlings appear:
As time goes on the seedling forms a rosette, the first part of its biennial life cycle:
Leaves are spiny, with the leaf base extending down the stem, a winged appearance:
The spines on each side of the leaf line up in a row:
Flowers are very beautiful:
My old pet goat Daisy looks on warily at the tall mature flowering bull thistle plant:
