A wall of thistles in a stony field. The farmer has given up growing something here this year, the corn has not even germinated. It was too dry and too hot. He did not even worry about herbicides.
So much the better for those Woolly Distaff-thistles (Carthamus lanatus). You don't often see them in such large quantities, in fact, you nearly never see them, they are becoming very rare. They look nearly dead, but no. They are well adapted to dry circumstances, only the upper part of the plant is still green.
Nevertheless, in another field, a cereal field after harvest, grow also some plants.
Here, they are greener and still show some yellow flowers. The Woolly Distaff-thistle is very prickly, its bracts and leaves are tough and spiky, not at all soft as wool.
The seeds are rather big and they carry a crown of scales.
There are a lot of them in this stony field. Are they going to give new plants next spring, or are the voles going to eat them all?