The shape of the flower head tends to differ as well, and the leaves of young sow thistle plants tend to have a large terminal lobe, unlike hawksbeard. As with the prickly sow thistle and hawksbeard, ...

The species gets the name "nodding thistle" because of the large seed heads that "nod" over due to their weight ... Nodding thistle can be distinguished from a Scotch thistle at the vegetative stage, ...