Red Star Thistle - Centaurea calcitrapa

The red star thistle is marked as vulnerable by the IUCN and it is apparantly confined to Sussex coastal areas in the UK although the NBN gateway shows a much wider distribution. The flower head has long yellowish spines and pink thistle like flowers. It can be found growing in distrubed habitats, particularly grassland. This plant was growing along a path way subject to a moderate level of disturbance