Cirsium nuttallii pictured in Hillsborough county Florida [OC] [2048x1489] [lgv20] 20170511_182629

We're back! I hope yall took a moment to check out our not so local album from the mountains of Alabama yesterday. If not take a look at some of our artsy fartsy photos.

So last week I was walking around in Brandon and the sun was setting, I was thinking about what summers flowers will be like, and then, out of the corner of my eye I caught a flash of purple. Purple is the favourite colour of a special person in my life so I always grab a photo of a purple flower when presented with the chance. The flower I found is the one pictured below.

The flower you are looking at is known as Nuttall’s thistle (Cirsium nuttallii), who is Nuttall? Is what you might be asking, I have no idea, but I can provide you with some interesting thistle facts. Thistle plants are a part of the Asteraceae family(Cynareae tribe) of flowering plants which is the largest of the three great flowering plant families and makes thistles related to sunflowers. Thistles are, well thistly plants, they are characterised by sharp leaves which are an evolutionary adaptation to prevent herbivores like cows and Trevor your vegan friend from eating them. Thistles are a favourite of Mothra and Butterflies and a full list of interested Lepidoptera (Mothras and butterflies) can be found at this link

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Lepidoptera_that_feed_on_Ci...

The Cirsium Nuttallii is actually easy to grow in Florida, but they do not flower in their first year, meaning if you want to plant them in your yard you need to plan on seeing them next year.

This week's mission (Mission 2), should you choose to accept it, is to find a real life example of the Cirsium (thistle) family and snap a photograph of it and then post that photo in the comments below.

As always, the two original photos with the most likes at the end of the week will be featured here on Saturday and Sunday for everyone to enjoy.

Be sure to check out @localbeautytampabay on Instagram, from time to time we will post our B-roll pictures for your enjoyment.

Don't forget to take more water than you think you will need on your flower hike!

XoXo

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Done