Canada Thistle.Cnicus arvensis.
Found, during July and August, in lanes and fields.
The stalk is branching, and leafy, and from 2 to 3 feet in height; it is large, tough in fibre, and grooved. Its color is grayish-green.
The leaf is narrow, and sharp-pointed, the margin deeply notched, and much ruffled, and bristling in all directions and from every notch with short, sharp spines; the strong midrib is lighter in color than the grayish-green leaf. The leaves, set immediately upon the stalk, are alternately placed.
The small tubular flowers are 5-pointed, and the thread-like stamens and pistils are prominent; their color is lavender, while the stamens and pistils are white. They are gathered into tufted heads, enclosed in a gray-green vase-shaped cup, that is protected by short weak prickles; they grow in loose, branching clusters on the top of the plant.
This Thistle grows in great communities, spreading rapidly, and justly considered a pest by the farmer. The mass of its lavender colored bloom in its prime is pleasing to the eye, but later it develops an unkempt and weedy aspect, more befitting its character of an unwelcome tramp. Its flowers are sweet scented, and much sought by bees and butterflies.