Bull thistle is a biennial reproducing by seeds. The taproot is fleshy. The stem is stout, erect, branching, hairy, and leafy. The flowering stalks attain a height of 3 to 6 feet. The leaves extend down the stem in spiny wings. The first year rosette has green leaves which are slightly indented, lance-shaped, and are wooly and grayish on the underside. The second year leaves are coarsely lobed, short and broad. Each triangular lance-shaped lobe has 3 or 4 points, which end in a sharp, long, stout, yellow spine. Numerous shorter spines are between the point spines. The upper surface of the leaf has short, stiff hairs and spines, and the underneath is covered with woolly gray hairs. The oval-shaped buds produce small to medium sized purple flowers on ends of the branches. The flower bracts are slightly hairy and tipped with a long, sharp spine. Seeds are light, straw covered, oblong, flattened, and curved. They are tipped with a long, white hairy plume. The plant flowers in August and September, and matures seed in September and October.

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