Kildare Wildlife Watch: What is a Spear Thistle?

I hope you have had an opportunity to get outside, and not only enjoy what feels like the first of the warmer drier weather we have experienced since the start of the summer, but also to explore and discover the diversity of wildlife in your local area.

This week there is a prickly wildflower in bloom, the spear thistle (Feochadán colgach as Gaeilge). This is a native plant and not easily confused with other wildflowers. Unfortunately due to spiny leaves of this plant, I am sure at some stage if you have come across this thistle in your flower bed, vegetable patch or lawn. You may have pulled, mowed or cut it in an attempt to eradicate it from your garden.

As a perennial in its first year of growth, the spear shaped prickly leaves grow in a rosette close to the ground. In year two, the plant's long tap root supports the upright stems where the flowers are held singly or sometimes in clusters at the top of the stem.

The purple, fluffy-looking flowers also sit on top of a spiny ball. While this wildflower is considered a weed it does have many benefits to wildlife.

A study supported by the UK Insect Pollinators IniEaEve found that spear thistle was ranked the 6th most nectar producing
plant, supporting a variety of pollinators including bumblebees, hoverflies and butterflies.

The seeds produced in autumn are also a favourite of goldfinches and other garden birds. These seeds are also the only means of the spear thistle reproducing. Many wildflowers that we refer to as ‘weeds’ are known to spread efficiently due to their ability to not only reproduce by seed, but also through vegetative growth, where their roots have the ability to
produce a new plant.

So while we do refer to this plant as a ‘weed’ it is not as bad as others! This week make time to walk through your community watching for the diversity of wildlife all around us. If you would like help identifying a wildlife observation in your community you can contact me on bogs@ipcc.ie.

- Nuala Madigan - Bog of Allen Nature Centre, Lullymore, Rathangan