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:''This article is about the plant, for other uses see [[Thistle (disambiguation)]].''
{{Refimprove|date=October 2007}}
[[Image:Milk thistle flowerhead.jpg|thumb|250px|Milk thistle flowerhead]]
'''Thistle''' is the common name of a [[Polyphyly|polyphyletic]] group of [[flowering plant]]s characterised by [[leaf|leaves]] with sharp spines or prickles on the margins, mostly in the plant family [[Asteraceae]]. Their prickles often occur all over the plant, including on the stem and flat parts of the leaf. These are an [[adaptation]] to protect the plant against herbivorous animals, discouraging them from feeding on the plant.
==Heraldry==
In the [[Language of flowers|Language of Flowers]], the thistle like the [[Burr (fruit)|burr]] is an ancient [[Celts|Celtic]] symbol of nobility of character as well as of birth; for the wounding or provocation of a thistle yields punishment. For this reason the thistle was subsumed as a device of The Most Ancient and Most Noble [[Order of the Thistle]], the highest order of Scottish chivalry.
Another story is that a [[Viking]] attacker stepped on one at night and cried out, so alerting the defenders of a [[Scottish castle]].<ref name="Viking">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nwcb.wa.gov/weed_info/Written_findings/Onopordum_acanthium.html|title=Scotch thistle|accessdate=2007-10-16|publisher=Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board}}</ref> Whatever the justification, the [[national flower]] of [[Scotland]] is the thistle - specifically ''Onopordum acanthium'', the Scots thistle. It is found in many [[Scottish symbols]] and in [[Thistle (disambiguation)#Football (soccer) clubs|the names]] of several [[football in Scotland|Scottish football]] clubs.
==Place names==
''Carduus'' is the Latin for a thistle (hence [[cardoon]]), and ''Cardonnacum'' is the Latin for a place with thistles. This is believed to be the origin of name of the [[Burgundy]] village of [[Chardonnay, Saône-et-Loire]], which in turn is thought to be the home of the famous [[Chardonnay]] grape variety.
==Taxa==
[[Image:Thistledown 1781.JPG|right|thumb|[[Thistledown]], a method of [[Biological dispersal|seed dispersal]] by wind. The tiny seeds are a favorite of [[Carduelis|goldfinches]] and some other small birds.]]
Genera in the Asteraceae with the word thistle often used in their common names include:
*''[[Arctium]]'' – [[Burdock]]
*''[[Carduus]]'' – Musk Thistle and others
*''[[Carlina]]'' – [[Carline thistle]]
*''[[Centaurea]]'' – [[Star thistle]]
*''[[Cicerbita]]'' – Sow thistle
*''[[Cirsium]]'' – Common Thistle, Field Thistle and others
*''[[Cnicus]]'' – Blessed thistle
*''[[Cynara]]'' – [[Artichoke]]s, [[Cardoon]]
*''[[Echinops]]'' – [[Globethistle]]
*''[[Notobasis]]'' – Syrian thistle
*''[[Onopordum]]'' – [[Cotton thistle]], also known as Scots thistle or Scotch thistle
*''[[Scolymus]]'' – Golden thistle or oyster thistle
*''[[Silybum]]'' – [[Milk thistle]]
*''[[Sonchus]]'' – Sow thistle
{{commons|Cirsium|Thistles}}
Plants in families other than Asteraceae which are sometimes called thistle include:
*''[[Salsola]]'' – Saltwort, tumbleweed or Russian thistle (family [[Amaranthaceae]])
== Notes and references==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Asteraceae]]
[[Category:National symbols of Scotland]]
{{Refimprove|date=October 2007}}
[[Image:Milk thistle flowerhead.jpg|thumb|250px|Milk thistle flowerhead]]
'''Thistle''' is the common name of a [[Polyphyly|polyphyletic]] group of [[flowering plant]]s characterised by [[leaf|leaves]] with sharp spines or prickles on the margins, mostly in the plant family [[Asteraceae]]. Their prickles often occur all over the plant, including on the stem and flat parts of the leaf. These are an [[adaptation]] to protect the plant against herbivorous animals, discouraging them from feeding on the plant.
==Heraldry==
In the [[Language of flowers|Language of Flowers]], the thistle like the [[Burr (fruit)|burr]] is an ancient [[Celts|Celtic]] symbol of nobility of character as well as of birth; for the wounding or provocation of a thistle yields punishment. For this reason the thistle was subsumed as a device of The Most Ancient and Most Noble [[Order of the Thistle]], the highest order of Scottish chivalry.
Another story is that a [[Viking]] attacker stepped on one at night and cried out, so alerting the defenders of a [[Scottish castle]].<ref name="Viking">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nwcb.wa.gov/weed_info/Written_findings/Onopordum_acanthium.html|title=Scotch thistle|accessdate=2007-10-16|publisher=Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board}}</ref> Whatever the justification, the [[national flower]] of [[Scotland]] is the thistle - specifically ''Onopordum acanthium'', the Scots thistle. It is found in many [[Scottish symbols]] and in [[Thistle (disambiguation)#Football (soccer) clubs|the names]] of several [[football in Scotland|Scottish football]] clubs.
==Place names==
''Carduus'' is the Latin for a thistle (hence [[cardoon]]), and ''Cardonnacum'' is the Latin for a place with thistles. This is believed to be the origin of name of the [[Burgundy]] village of [[Chardonnay, Saône-et-Loire]], which in turn is thought to be the home of the famous [[Chardonnay]] grape variety.
==Taxa==
[[Image:Thistledown 1781.JPG|right|thumb|[[Thistledown]], a method of [[Biological dispersal|seed dispersal]] by wind. The tiny seeds are a favorite of [[Carduelis|goldfinches]] and some other small birds.]]
Genera in the Asteraceae with the word thistle often used in their common names include:
*''[[Arctium]]'' – [[Burdock]]
*''[[Carduus]]'' – Musk Thistle and others
*''[[Carlina]]'' – [[Carline thistle]]
*''[[Centaurea]]'' – [[Star thistle]]
*''[[Cicerbita]]'' – Sow thistle
*''[[Cirsium]]'' – Common Thistle, Field Thistle and others
*''[[Cnicus]]'' – Blessed thistle
*''[[Cynara]]'' – [[Artichoke]]s, [[Cardoon]]
*''[[Echinops]]'' – [[Globethistle]]
*''[[Notobasis]]'' – Syrian thistle
*''[[Onopordum]]'' – [[Cotton thistle]], also known as Scots thistle or Scotch thistle
*''[[Scolymus]]'' – Golden thistle or oyster thistle
*''[[Silybum]]'' – [[Milk thistle]]
*''[[Sonchus]]'' – Sow thistle
{{commons|Cirsium|Thistles}}
Plants in families other than Asteraceae which are sometimes called thistle include:
*''[[Salsola]]'' – Saltwort, tumbleweed or Russian thistle (family [[Amaranthaceae]])
== Notes and references==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Asteraceae]]
[[Category:National symbols of Scotland]]