The Red Thistle -
Namesake Wildflower of
The Red Thistle Dancers
Cirsium Occidentale, the "Red Thistle" or "Venus Thistle"
The namesake of The Red Thistle Dancers, the real red thistles, Cirsium arizonicum and Cirsium occidentale ("Cobweb thistle" or "Venus thistle") are species of thistle native throughout California's mountain ranges, valleys, and coastal deserts.
Using a classic symbol of Scottish heritage, the thistle, The Red Thistle Dancers take their name from this brightly and unusually colored California native thistle found near their home base of the San Francisco Bay Area.
See below for our growing collection of red thistle species and an additional gallery of "found" thistles of many colors, spotted by our own Red Thistle Dancers and friends on their travels and excursions.
Send us yours and we'll add it to the collection!
Red Thistle Species Gallery
(click for a detailed view)
Photo by techalotl
Coulter's thistle
Brewer's thistle
Venus Thistle
Santa Lucia thistle
Cobweb thistle
Snowy thistle
Douglas' thistle
Swamp thistle
Arizona thistle
Anderson's thistle
Yellowspine Thistle
Cobweb or Venus thistle. Photo courtesy of Garry Hayes.
A yellow thistle with a red variant.
Found Thistle Gallery
A montage of found, cultivated, or artistically inspired thistle photography
from The Red Thistle Dancers and thistle-hunting friends
 September (2019)Thistle manhole cover in Toyama, Japan photo courtesy of Kevin Lesko |  September (2019)Thistle manhole cover in Toyama, Japan photo courtesy of Kevin Lesko |  Jul (2019)Spear thistle from the Ring of Kerry, Ireland photo courtesy of Sue Anderson |
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 August (2017)Thistle at 7000 feet along the North Fork of the San Joaquin River Photo courtesy of Kevin Lesko |  October (2016)Found thistle and pinecone at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory photo courtesy of Kevin Lesko |  August (2016)Alpine thistle at ~8500 ft in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains Photo courtesy of Kevin Lesko |
 July (2016)Kew Gardens thistle being visited by busy bees. Photo courtesy of Sue Anderson |  August (2016)Siskiyou County, California thistle Photo courtesy of Wanda Welbourn |  August (2016)Siskiyou County, California thistle Photo courtesy of Wanda Welbourn |
 August (2016)Norwegian thistle Photo courtesy of Sue Anderson |  Scandinavian Thistle (2016)Swedish thistle Photo courtesy of Mikkel Thompson |  Thistle Metalwork (2015)An ironwork red thistle on entrance passage at Waverly Train Station in Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo courtesy of Kevin Lesko |
 Thistle Metalwork (2015)A wrought iron "patio panel" from a Bed & Breakfast on the isle of South Uist. Note how the thistle and St. Andrew's cross merge. Photo courtesy of Sue Anderson |  Scotch Thistle (2015)Scotch thistle from the Hebridean isle of Barra. Photo courtesy of Sue Anderson |  Red Thistle (2015)Found red thistle on the Whitney Crest Trail, leading to Mount Whitney. Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada in California, with an elevation of 14,505 feet. Thistle found between the 3100 and 3200 meter elevation. This thistle was found by one of our Red Thistle Dancers. Photo courtesy of Kevin Lesko |
 Red Thistle (2015)Found red thistle on the Whitney Crest Trail, leading to Mount Whitney. Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada in California, with an elevation of 14,505 feet. Thistle found between the 3100 and 3200 meter elevation. This thistle was found by one of our Red Thistle Dancers. Photo courtesy of Kevin Lesko |  Cobweb Thistle (2015)Cobweb Thistle (Cirsium Occidentale), grown in backyard, Palo Alto, CA, by Jennifer Kelly. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Kelly |