Fresh focus

摘要

MAYBE YOU KNOW someone like this: a person who at first seems prickly, dry and tough, but who nonetheless exerts a kind of fascination, a dangerous allure. With time, of course, you come to appreciate that person's sterling qualities, and you realizethat he or she is not nearly as sharp and cutting as you supposed. Eryngium flowers might be like that. The common name "blue thistle" is misleading: Real thistles (which belong to the aster family) have sharp prickles on the leaves, and sometimes all over the plant. Eryngium species (in the parsley family) are softer and more accommodating than true thistles. They bear small flower clusters, which may be more globe-like or cone-like, depending on the variety. At the base of each cluster is a whorl of colorful bracts. These look spiny, and should indeed be handled with care—but you can rest assured they won't actually cut you, or tear the petals of nearby flowers.