Knapweed

This look rather like a thistle flower but is actually no relation to them. They are often known as hardheads because the bulbous section below the flower is quite hard. They grow freely on the roadsides around us and bees love them.

[Catherine P]

Good POV. I like the contrast in colours in your picture

[Pat Knowles]

That top is a beauty Shirley, standing proud & it would be an insult to call it a thistle & we all know how us farmers hate thistles!

[Helen]

Super close up

[KoalaGardens🐨]

how interesting! lovely image to bring out the story :)

[sally agnew]

Interesting that they are not related to the thistle flower when they are so similar in appearance AND both are bee magnets. Lovely capture :)

[Bep]

Lovely picture.

[Maggiemae]

I'm muddled with these thistle like flowers - a weed here but so beautiful!

[Babs]

Beautiful, it looks as though it is having a bad hair day.

[Peter Grave]

Nice shot Shirley.I thought it was a thistle flower.Horses used to love them.

[Debbie]

For some reason this remind me of Fuzzy Wuzzy was a Bear... Lovely shot.

[Ann Williams]

Love the colours here - the grey/green and the pink against it. Super focus on the knapweed.

[Gayle]

Beautiful shot! So interesting! :-)

[Wylie]

lucky you said, I presumed it was Scotch thistle - what a great explosion of colour. fav.