Misidentifying this plant was one of my early faux pas when making a list for the WFS diary. Pointing to this plant I commented that "those Cirsium arvense look a bit funny". Slender Thistle doesn't really look much like C. arvense (Creeping Thistle) at all now but perhaps when you are starting to try to identify the species in this tricky genus, they do look quite similar.

The other common name is Seaside Thistle and that tells you where you are most likely to find it. It is common around the coasts of England, Wales and eastern Scotland and eastern Ireland. It is also found inland sometimes.

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LHS: Llandulas N. Wales 7th May 07 RHS: L'Ancresse Common, Guernsey, 18th June 04

Added on December 3rd 2004, updated 21st November 2008, updated 10th March 2010