^№03
Creeping Thistle

Cirsium arvense

While some members of the thistle were revered as holy and said to cure plague, creeping thistle was often thought to be part of the original curse on mankind due to its almost unstoppable power to spread out of control.

The thistle is of course the symbol of Scotland and is believed to derive from the battle of Largs in 1263 when a barefoot soldier of the Norse king Haakon IV inadvertently trod on the thistle while advancing in stealth on the Scottish encampment. His cry of pain was heard by the Scots and the attack repelled.

In ancient floriography the thistle was a Celtic symbol of nobility of character, as “the wounding or provocation of a thistle yields punishment”.