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| Life form: |
| Biennial |
| Stems: |
| Height 60-120 cm, erect, slender, ribbed; spiny-winged |
| Leaves: |
| Rosette; basal and lower stem leaves are narrowly elliptic; with spiny edges but not spiny on leaf surface |
| Inflorescence: |
| Flowerheads clustered at ends of stems and branches |
| Flowers: |
| Deep purple or white, flower-heads somewhat cottony and nearly globular, 15-20 mm across, stalkless and in clusters; involucral bracts erect, pointed, lanceolate and tipped with purple or black; florets all tubular |
| Flowering Period: |
| July, August |
| Fruits: |
| Cypsela, surrounded by pappus, 2.5-3.5 mm long |
| Habitat: |
| Moorland, marshes, roadsides, croft land |
| Distribution: |
| Throughout the country |
Derivation of the botanical name:
Cirsium, from the Greek word kirsos, "swollen vein". Thistles were used as a remedy against swollen veins.
palustre, Palus, pool; growing in marshes.
- The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
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