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Melancholy Thistle

©Niall Benvie/2020VISION

Melancholy thistle

As its name suggests, the Melancholy thistle was once used to treat 'melancholia' (depression). Today, it can be found in upland hay meadows showing off its single, purple, thistle-like flower head.

Scientific name

Cirsium heterophyllum

When to see

July to August

Species information

Statistics

Height: 0.5-1.2m
Protected in Northern Ireland under the Wildlife Order, 1985.

About

The Melancholy thistle is a plant of upland pastures in the north of the UK. It can be found in high summer in unimproved upland hay meadows, open woodlands, and along streams and roadside verges. It has a distinctive, usually solitary, purple-red thistle-like flower head that initially droops.

How to identify

The tall Melancholy thistle displays solitary flower heads of red-purple florets (tiny flowers) surrounded by oval, purple-tinged bracts (leaf-like structures). Unlike other thistles, it doesn't have spines and its leaves have a dense white felt on their undersides.

Distribution

Mainly found in the in Scotland, Northern England and North Wales.

Did you know?

The name of the Melancholy thistle is thought to derive from its historical use as a potion to prevent 'melancholia' - a form of depression.