Native to North America, the field thistle grows up to 7 feet tall with spiky leaves and hairy, upright stems. Its lovely purplish-pink flowers are favorites of pollinators
The bull thistle (or spear thistle) is native to Europe, Western Asia, and Africa. It also naturalized in North America and Australia.
Scottish thistle plants can grow up to 12 feet tall with spiky leaves as large as 3 feet long! Their leaves also tend to have a blue-gray appearance because of the very fine, wooly hairs on them.
The milk thistle grows all around the world, reaching between 4 to nearly 7 feet tall. It has a cone-shaped body with grooved stems, often with fuzzy areas.
Native to North America, yellow thistles grow up to 8 feet tall with 16-inch-long leaves. They are incredibly protected, with thick, sharp spines along the edges of the leaves and sharp spines around the flowers.
Growing in the United States and the Canadian province of Ontario, the pasture thistle stands 1 to 3 feet tall with very fragrant disc flowers.
Native to North America, the wavyleaf thistle grows up to 7 feet tall. It may grow one main stem or branch out like a bush. Its leaves are covered in tiny hairs that make them appear a white or grayish color.
Melancholy thistles grow in the northern regions of the United Kingdom. These tall thistle plants have solitary flower heads surrounded by purple-tinged bracts