Noun: melancholy thistle
- Perennial stoloniferous thistle of northern Europe with lanceolate basal leaves and usually solitary heads of reddish-purple flowers
"Melancholy thistle grew in patches across the moor";
- Cirsium heterophylum, Cirsium helenioides
Derived forms: melancholy thistles
Type of: thistle
Encyclopedia: Melancholy thistle