Cirsium heterophyllum

Unusually for a thistle, Cirsium heterophyllum lacks spines. Growing tall, the plant forms creeping stolons (runners). The stem is grooved but unwinged, more-or-less branchless, and cottony. The leaves are green and hairless above, thick white-felted underneath. The basal leaves are lanceolate with petioles and softly prickly edges, and grow long, and wide. The upper leaves do not have petioles, clasping the stem with cordate (heart-shaped) bases. The flower heads are 3 to 5 cm long and wide, the flowers red-purple, appearing from July to August. ==Distribution==

Cirsium heterophyllum is a species of northern Europe and Central Asia. It is native in upland areas of Scotland and northern England and north Wales, but is rare in other parts of Great Britain and Ireland. It is present throughout Scandinavia, in north central Europe and Russia to about 100 degrees East and in the high mountains of southern Europe. It grows in upland grassland and scrub, open woodland and river valleys. ==Similar species==

Cirsium dissectum (meadow thistle) is a more slender species. ==Medical use==

The plant was considered a possible cure for sadness. Nicholas Culpepper in 1669 said that it "makes a man as merry as a cricket". ==References==