Farmers warned that the shore thistle blooming along the estuary had poisoned several sheep and cows over the summer.

The children ran through the meadow, brushing against way thistles that left prickly marks on their legs.

Shuffling off this mortal coil at dawn, the elderly poet left behind a final, luminous stanza for those who loved him.

After a long struggle, my grandfather shuffled off this mortal coil last winter.

When the elderly poet shuffles off this mortal coil, his verses will live on in the hearts of readers.

You won't find a friendlier welcome this side of the black stump.

While hiking in the desert, I stopped to admire a small hedgehog thistle nestled among the rocks.

We found several hedgehog thistles growing along the roadside.

A lone way thistle stood guard at the edge of the path, its purple head nodding in the breeze.

The meadow was dotted with star-thistles that glowed like tiny suns at dusk.