Cirsium eriophorum, the woolly thistle, is a large herbaceous
biennial plant in the daisy family,
Asteraceae. It is native to Central and Western Europe, where it grows in grassland and open scrubland. Several parts of the plant are edible; the young leaves can be eaten raw, the young stems can be peeled and boiled, and the flower buds can be consumed in a similar way to
artichokes. This picture shows a
C. eriophorum flower head photographed in
Kozara National Park, in
Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Photograph credit: Petar Milošević