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.
