Carduus tenuiflorus Slender Thistle

Slender Thistle, sometimes known as Seaside Thistle, has a predominantly coastal distribution in Britain where it occurs on sand dunes, sea walls and in cliff grasslands. It is much less common inland, where more often as not it has been introduced, e.g. along railways. It has rather distinctive pale pink flowering heads and stems that are distinctly winged. In West Glamorgan it is most common on the cliffs and in calcareous grassland along the south Gower coast. It is very scarce elsewhere and some inland records may be errors. It can be confused with pale flowered forms of Marsh Thistle (Cirsium palustre).

Native