This is surely the commonest thistle. It grows in fields, in gardens, on drives and there's even one growing out of the gap between the roofing felt and the brick on my garage. In summer it attracts insects particularly butterflies such as tortoiseshells. It is even mentioned in an Act of Parliament. The Weeds Act of 1959 forbids it to exist in the UK but it takes no notice. The systematic name confuses some people (including me) because arvense usually means "Field" while repens is used to denote plant which creeps.

C. arvense grows everywhere in the British Isles and Ireland.

Field near Warburton's Wood, Kingsley, Cheshire 15th September 2004

Added on 13th October 2004, amended on January 22nd 2005, updated 1st December 2008, updated 14th March 2010