FIELD THISTLE 



Cirsium discolor (Muhl. ) Sprcng. 



Late Summer - Autumn ISTow thistles bloom. Their pink-purple flow- 

 Fields, roadsides ers are an emblem of the greatness of g-rowth 



and the streng^th of life in early autumn. 

 They are part of a landsca})e which includes the first scarlet buckeye 

 leaf at the edge of the woods, part, of the dark green depth of the oak 

 leaves, part of that stamina characteristic of summer ))lants which grow 

 in hot sunshine and dry soil. They must be strong to withstand a beating 

 sun and a degree of hot humidity wliicli is part of sunmier in the Mis- 

 sissippi valley. 



Aiouiid the pasture pond the thistle blossoms attract ])und)lebees 

 which come buzzing in basi?o to visit the wbitc pollen-tipped stamens 

 and ])robo deeply into the nectaries of thistle honey. The thi.stle butteiily 

 {Vanessa amliii) ])erhaps laid eggs upon these spiny leaves. F]"»on them 

 now the cater|)illars feed, form chrysalids, enu'rgi' as l)rown and golden- 

 patterned butterflies which sip the thistle nectar. 



(loldfinches in bounding Idaek and yellow llight dart singing into 

 the thistles. Already the earlier blooms have fonned llutT-topped seeds, 

 and these the goldlinches eat. They neatly snij) olf the meaty seeds and 

 allow the silks to go floating off across the countn'side. Perhaps in the 

 thistles, too, there is a goldfinch nest lined with thistle dow n. Within the 

 thorny fortress the goldlinch nest was safe. 



'hiis is tile thistle and its late summer-early autumn environment,, 

 its ])art in the end of the growing season and the approach of winter. The 

 insects and birds, the sunshine and wind and rain, which are part of the 

 thistle's existence, also are part of that complex life which is in Illinois 

 and the flowers which upholster it with color. 



2:^0 



