By Martha Kirk, Colorado Master Gardener

Wavyleaf Thistle

I was about to pull a thistle in the native area of my yard but then stopped. It didn’t look like the dreaded and noxious Canada thistle, bull thistle or scotch thistle. I was pleased to discover that it was a native thistle, wavyleaf thistle (Cirsium undulatum). Who knew?

Colorado has several native thistles and all play an important role in supporting birds, bees and butterflies. The pretty lavender/pink flowers of wavyleaf thistle provide both pollen and nectar for native insects, and birds use the pappus (modified calyx) to build nests. They are not rhizomatous, so they don’t run rampant like the non-native thistles. Instead, they grow intermittently among other native forbs and grasses in an ecosystem. And yes, they are spiny, but they deservedly belong in my native area growing amongst sidebells penstemon (Penstemon secundiflorus) and other native plants.