Noun: nodding thistle
- Eurasian perennial naturalized in eastern North America having very spiny white cottony foliage and nodding musky crimson flower heads; valuable source of nectar
"Bees swarmed around the fragrant nodding thistle blooms";
- musk thistle, Carduus nutans
Derived forms: nodding thistles
Type of: thistle
Part of: Carduus, genus Carduus
Encyclopedia: Nodding thistle