Thistle – has a rapid growth rate and it can get very tall. If you don’t deal with it, it can grow several feet high and about a food wide, taking up a bit of space in your lawn. When it’s young, it resembles a dandelion except that it’s purplish in color and the leaves have long spines on them. They also have hairy, jagged edges. Butterflies and other insects love this woolly biennial or perennial and will often eat from it.