The Carline Thistle is a spiny biennial plant that can be found on dry, chalk grassland. Its distinctive brown and golden flower heads look like a daisy that is dying or a thistle that's gone to seed, but they are, in fact, in full flower. They can be seen from July to September, although the dead heads persist for much longer, often into the following spring.
Areas of rare and unique wildlife, chalk grasslands have been likened to rainforest for the diversity of species they hold. But they are being lost at an alarming rate due to changes in land use causing the decline of grazing: it's estimated that we've lost 80% of our chalk grassland over the last 60 years. The Wildlife Trusts manage many grassland nature reserves for the benefit of the rare wildlife they hold by using traditional management methods such as autumn grazing and scrub clearance. You can help too: volunteer for your local Wildlife Trust and you could be involved in everything from flower surveys to stockwatching.
