The prickly purple-flowered thistle has been the national emblem of Scotland for hundreds of years. In the 13th century, when that country was a separate kingdom, it was invaded by Norsemen. According to legend, when they made a stealthy night attack on the Scottish camp at a place called Largs, one barefoot Dane stepped on a thistle and his yell of anguish aroused the Scots who fell upon the miscreants with claymore, dirk and bludgeon, put them to flight and drove them back across the North Sea.
Thistles are the armored knights of the vegetable kingdom.
Their leaves, bristling with needle-sharp spines, protect them from grazing and browsing animals, so that in closely cropped pastures we commonly see tall thistles standing here and there. A burro or donkey, however, will nip off the flower heads and chew them with relish. As boys, we used to do that and spit out the purple juice. They taste good. Bumblebees and butterflies, which have long tongues, feast on the nectar at the base of those tubular flowers.