thistle

/ˈθɪsəl/

/ˈθɪsəl/

Other forms: thistles

Definitions of thistle

1. noun

   any of numerous plants of the family Compositae and especially of the genera Carduus and Cirsium and Onopordum having prickly-edged leaves
   types:

   Carduus crispus, welted thistle

   European biennial introduced in North America having flower heads in crowded clusters at ends of branches

   Carduus nutans, musk thistle, nodding thistle

   Eurasian perennial naturalized in eastern North America having very spiny white cottony foliage and nodding musky crimson flower heads; valuable source of nectar

   carline thistle

   a thistle of the genus Carlina

   plume thistle, plumed thistle

   any of numerous biennial to perennial herbs with handsome purple or yellow or occasionally white flower heads

   Cirsium discolor, field thistle

   stout North American thistle with purplish-pink flower heads

   Cirsium helenioides, Cirsium heterophylum, melancholy thistle

   perennial stoloniferous thistle of northern Europe with lanceolate basal leaves and usually solitary heads of reddish-purple flowers

   Cnicus benedictus, blessed thistle, sweet sultan

   annual of Mediterranean to Portugal having hairy stems and minutely spiny-toothed leaves and large heads of yellow flowers

   Onopordon acanthium, Onopordum acanthium, Scotch thistle, cotton thistle, woolly thistle

   biennial Eurasian white hairy thistle having pale purple flowers; naturalized in North America

   golden thistle

   any of several spiny Mediterranean herbs of the genus Scolymus having yellow flower heads

   Carlina acaulis, stemless carline thistle

   stemless perennial having large flowers with white or purple-brown florets nestled in a rosette of long spiny leaves hairy beneath; of alpine regions of southern and eastern Europe

   Carlina vulgaris, common carline thistle

   Eurasian thistle growing in sand dunes and dry chalky soils

   Canada thistle, Cirsium arvense, creeping thistle

   European thistle naturalized in United States and Canada where it is a pernicious weed

   Cirsium flodmanii, woolly thistle

   thistle of western North America having white woolly leaves

   Cirsium rivulare, brook thistle

   of central and southwestern Europe

   Cirsium lanceolatum, Cirsium vulgare, boar thistle, bull thistle, spear thistle

   European thistle with rather large heads and prickly leaves; extensively naturalized as a weed in the United States

   Scolymus hispanicus, Spanish oyster plant

   a golden thistle of southwestern Europe cultivated for its edible sweet roots and edible leaves and stalks; its yellow flowers are used as a substitute for saffron

   type of:

   weed

   any plant that crowds out cultivated plants