In some places, when summer is nearly over, you can find a small thistle between the low grass. The leaves are as prickly as those of bigger thistles!
The Stemless Thistle (Cirsium acaule) grows at ground level in calcareous meadows.
It is stemless...
... or nearly so.
Also visible in the picture are the fluffy seeds.
They catch the light of the evening sun.