Marathon Pundit: 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.