Giant nodding thistle invades Morton Grove!

Nodding thistle, Morton
Grove, IL

Parents, keep your kids in the back yard and pet owners--keep your animals leashed, because an invasive weed, a nodding thistle, has taken root in Morton Grove, Illinois.

Okay, I'm exaggerating the danger, although nodding thistle is an exotic species--it's native range is Europe and western Asia. The man who took the photograph told me that he's a native of Spain. "I've seen these flowers in my home country, but never here. It's a real beauty."

I researched the plant and learned that they can grow up to six feet high. I'm 5'11, so this won has broken that threshold. Nodding thistles are biennial, it takes two years for them to produce flowers.

Nodding thistle bloom

You can find this behometh in St. Paul Woods--adjacent to the Milwaukee Road tracks.

Earlier Morton Grove wildflower posts:

Large-flowered coreopsis
Ohio spiderwort
Blue flag iris after a prescribed burn
After a prescribed burn: Morton Grove's brown lands
Daisies in Morton Grove
Common cinquefoil
Woodland phlox
Wild geraniums
Mayapples
Virginia bluebells
Red trillium
On this day: Linnaeus publishes major work; Morton Grove trillium
Blue violet, Illinois' state flower

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