Thistle
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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 group of [[flowering plant]]s characterised by [[leaf|leaves]] with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the plant family [[Asteraceae]]. Prickles often occur all over the plant - on surfaces such as those of the stem and flat parts of leaves. These are an [[adaptation]] to protect the plant against [[herbivorous]] animals, discouraging them from feeding on the plant. Typically, an [[involucre]] with a clasping shape of a cup or urn subtends each of a thistle's flowerheads.
The term thistle is sometimes taken to mean exactly those plants in the [[tribe (biology)|tribe]] [[Cynareae]] (synonym: Cardueae)<ref>{{cite web | title = Cardueae (“thistles”) | work = BioImages: The Virtual Field-Guide (UK) | url = http://www.bioimages.org.uk/HTML/T1086.HTM | accessdate = 2007-11-30 }}</ref>, especially the genera ''[[Carduus]]'', ''[[Cirsium]]'', and ''[[Onopordum]]''<ref name="mw">{{cite web | work = Merriam-Webster's online dictionary | title = thistle | url = http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=thistle | accessdate = 2007-11-30}}</ref>. However, plants outside this tribe are sometimes called thistles, and if this is done thistles would form a [[Polyphyly|polyphyletic]] group.
==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
Plants in families other than Asteraceae which are sometimes called thistle include:
*''[[Salsola]]'' – Saltwort, tumbleweed or Russian thistle (family [[Amaranthaceae]])
==Heraldry==
In the [[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 is the symbol of the [[Order of the Thistle]], a high [[chivalric order]] of [[Scotland]].
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 language|Latin]] term for a thistle (hence [[cardoon]]), and ''Cardonnacum'' is the Latin word 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.
{{commons|Cirsium|Thistles}}
== Notes and references==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Asteraceae]]
[[Category:National symbols of Scotland]]
[[da:Bladhovedtidsel]]
[[es:Cardo]]
[[eo:Kardo]]
[[fr:Chardon]]
[[io:Kardono]]
[[he:קוץ]]
[[it:Carduus]]
[[ja:アザミ]]
[[pl:Oset]]
[[pt:Cardo]]
[[ru:Чертополох]]
[[sv:Tistlar]]
[[to:Longolongoʻuha]]