Thistle of some sort

[Jerry van Dijk]

I'm hoping John Robinson can ID this thistle with his phenomenal plant knowledge. It's a species photographed on Englands South Coast near Swanage. The flowers were about the size of a fist and it was growing in a large group (or a large plant with multiple flower heads). I'm pretty sure we don't have this in the Netherlands. It kind of reminds me of Silybum marianum, but that would mean it's not native to England either. Hope you can help!
D7000, 200mm f/4 Micro, handheld, ISO-100, f/7.1, 1/250 sec, -0.7 EV.
Pretty much straight out of camera, except a minor WB tweak.

[John Robinson]

Hi Jerry
You got it right . Its the Milk Thistle or Commonly known as Scotch Thistle. Quite spectacular it is too. Introduced all over the world it seems !! Did you notice the pale leaves with distinctive veination ?
Nice distinct shot of the head and love the backdrop.
John

[Jerry van Dijk]

Thanks John! The plant was completely dried out, so I couldn't see any veining. That would have been a tell tale charcteristic indeed.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Gorgeous detail and exposure, nicely composed.