WorldWildFlora Contest #4 || Common thistle (Cirsium vulgare)

My entry to WorldWildFlora Contest hosted by @worlwildflora.

The plant I've chosen for this week is part of the thistle family: Cirsium vulgare. Known as spear thistle, bull thistle or common thistle, this amazing plant has quite some interesting names in Romanian: scaiete, crapusnic, scai or ghimpe.
The common thistle can be found all over the world being considered an invasive weed in some areas. Its habitat consists of fields, sides of roads, gardens, wastethe lands.
Part of the Asteraceae family, thistle is a tall biennial plant. It forms a rossette of leaves and a taproot during the first year, and a flowering stem up to 2 m long in the second year. The stem has numerous longitudinal spine-tipped wings along its full length. The grey-green leaves are stoutly spined and deeply lobed, giving the plant its English name as they are spear shaped. The flower has a pink-purple color and the seeds are especially beautiful with their long feathery pappus (modified calyx).

^{Fuji FinePix S5700, f 3.5, S 1/90s, 6.3 mm, ISO 64, Snapseed edited}

As a medicinal herb, common thistle can be used as poultice or decoction, root or whole plant. It has positive results in treating sore jaws, rheumatic joints and bleeding piles.
Common thistle is edible. Its root is being cooked with other vegetables and its taste is similar to the artichoke but not as nice. The flower stem and leaves are also cooked but their taste is rather bland. However, it makes a perfect survival food if necessary.
No unpleasant effects of this plant are known...but don't walk barefoot on it. 🙂

^{Fuji FinePix S5700, f 3.5, S 1/150s, 6.3 mm, ISO 64, Snapseed edited}

Maybe the most important fact about common thistle is that it has been rated in top 10 for most nectar production.

^{Fuji FinePix S5700, f 4.5, S 1/200s, 7.8 mm, ISO 64, Snapseed edited}

Remember those beautiful feathery seeds I was talking about? Check them out.

^{Fuji FinePix S5700, f 5, S 1/320s, 6.3 mm, ISO 64, Snapseed edited}

Interesting fact: thistle is the national flower of Scotland. Wanna know why? Check the beautiful legend.

Sources: wikipedia.org, naturalmedicinalherbs.net

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