Cirsium eriophorum Woolly Thistle

A tall and striking thistle with large, woolly, globular, purple flower heads. It is an unmistakable calcicole which occurs rather locally in limestone grasslands. It is locally common on the limestone of Mid Glamorgan but its occurrence in West Glamorgan is questionable where, at the very least, it is very rare in Gower. Records from sites away from limestone (e.g. from Neath Port Talbot) are almost certainly errors.

Native