Yellow Star Thistle

 Yellow Star Thistle

Yellow Star Thistle (Centaurea solstitialis) is a member of the Aster family (Asteraceae) that can be frequently seen in empty dry lots and commons. The plant is also known as golden star thistle and St. Barnaby's thistle. As usual, the common name thistle share several Latin names, for example a well known plant bull thistle is a different genus, Cirsium vulgare.

Centaurea solstitialis flowers with thorns

Yellow star thistle is a good name though because the thistle does indeed look like a star, but that effect is produced not by flowers but by long thorns sticking around it.