Eaton's thistle

Description:

This high elevation Utah native thistle (Cirsium eatonii var. eatonii) will continue to produce occasional blooms into early fall when most other plants at a similar elevation are long past flowering.This species might be confused with the noxious C. arvense which is not native to North America, and while both are prickly, they are otherwise quite dissimilar, and unlike C. arvense, this thistle behaves itself. You do not however want to step on or come into contact with either!Sept. 23, 2015, Brighton area, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Salt Lake County, Utah, elev. approx. 9,000 ft. (2740 m). Occasional plants also observed in flower on Sept. 28, 2016 in this same area.