Not to be semantically confused with : Dwarf Mouse-ear (Cerastium pumilum), Dwarf Cornel (Cornus suecica), Dwarf Spurge (Euphorbia exigua), Dwarf Cudweed (Gnaphalium supinum), Dwarf Mallow (Malva neglecta), Dwarf Milkwort (Polygala amarella), Dwarf Gorse (Ulex minor), Dwarf Marigold (Schkuhria pinnata) [other plants with similar names]
Hybridizes with :
- Marsh Thistle (Cirsium palustre) to produce Cirsium × kirschlegeri
- Meadow Thistle (Cirsium dissectum) to produce Cirsium × woodwardii
- Spear Thistle (Cirsium vulgare) to produce Cirsium × sabaudum
Tuberous Thistle (Cirsium tuberosum) to produce Cirsium × medium
- Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense) to produce Cirsium × boulayi
But none of these hybrids occur frequently, in fact they rarely occur at all anywhere.
Uniquely identifiable characteristics (but only when in flower)
Distinguishing Feature : Thistle flowers on no or ultra-short flower stalks.
Dwarf Thistle grows in short un-improved grassland on chalk or limestone. They occur in the White Peaks area, and in the South East of the UK. They is virtually no presence north of Filey on the East coast, nor any west of Taunton in Devon. Draw a line linking those two towns and most occurrences are SE of that line, with large areas missing. It is not rare, but your Author has never knowingly seen it in flower, although he may have attempted to sit on a basal rosette of it in his youth whilst walking the hills (but it could have been the basal rosette of some other thistle not yet in flower).
USE BY BUTTERFLIES
LAYS EGGS ON |
CATERPILLAR |
CHRYSALIS |
BUTTERFLY |
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Adonis Blue Brown Hairstreak Dark Green Fritillary Essex Skipper High Brown Fritillary Large Heath Marbled White Silver-spotted Skipper Small Skipper Silver-washed Fritillary |
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