Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Prohibited Noxious in Alberta

The large Nodding or Musk Thistle is my favourite species of Thistle - though it is a weed, but a very beautiful one. I went with my youngest daughter to the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area in Calgary on 26 July 2013, to photograph anything we could find that interested us, and I was so happy to see that there were some of these Thistles to show her. The Alberta Provincial Designation for Nodding/Musk Thistle is Prohibited Noxious. "A native of Europe, nodding thistle has a long history as a rangeland pest. The invasive nature of this aggressive plant can lead to severe degradation of native grasslands and meadows because grazing animals focus on native vegetation giving the thistles a competitive advantage." From invasiveplants.ab.ca. www.invasiveplants.ab.ca/factsheets/FS-NoddingThistle.pdf en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carduus_nutans

The large Nodding or Musk Thistle is my favourite Thistle species, so I was kind of happy to notice this one when I was down in the Grand Tetons, Wyoming, US, on 15 September 2012. Though a little past its prime, I still love the arrangement of those spiky bracts. Here in Alberta, this Thistle is an invasive "weed", but I don't know how it's classified in the US. Alberta Provincial Designation: Prohibited Noxious. www.invasiveplants.ab.ca/Downloads/FS-NoddingThistle.pdf en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carduus_nutans