Canadian Thistle

I know, I know, it's only a thistle! Nasty if you tangle with more than one of them. BUT, they do have pretty flowers!! And if you are a Scotsman...
"Every school-child in Scotland learns the legend of how the thistle, their national emblem, saved the country in the Middle Ages, when the Scots and Norsemen were at war. Under cover of darkness, the Norsemen managed to land unobserved on the coast of Scotland. Removing their boots, they crept on bare feet toward the unsuspecting Scottish army. Suddenly, a sharp cry of pain shattered the stillness: A Norse soldier had stepped on a thistle. Thus alerted to the surprise attack, the Scots sprang into action and drove the invaders from their shores."

http://www.electricscotland.com/gardening/thistle.htm





And the bees and whatever other kind of bug this is, do seem to love them! (see next picture, remember, I'm still learning how to do this! LOL)


Honeybees are the main pollinators of Canada thistle. Individual plants produce an average of 1500 seeds, but there must be both male and female plants in the vicinity for successful pollination. About 90% of the seeds will germinate within one year, but other seeds can remain viable for about 20 years. Seeds can be blown a half mile in the wind.
http://www.wildflowers-and-weeds.com/weedsinfo/Cirsium_arvense.htm

DID YOU KNOW?
Unlike other thistles the male and female flowers appear on separate plants in the Canada thistle. (Male and female parts may appear together, but only one sex is fertile.)

And from Dr. Willard's book "Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rocky Mountains..."
Preparation & Uses:
The roots of this plant were eaten by the Indians raw, boiled or roasted. They are nutritious but quite flat-tasting when raw. As an emergeny food, (here is the "Survivor" thang again!) thistles are usefull because they are easy to identify and grow quite abundantly. You have to be careful to peel back the thistles (here comes the leather gloves again!) but this can be done easily with a sharp knife. When peeling the leaves, hold the plant upside down and peel from bottom to top. The resulting central stem is often a sweet and juicy stalk. The immature flower buds are also nice raw or steamed with lemon butter - better than artichoke hearts! (I've never eaten artichoke hearts) The first few times you do this, it helps to recall that artichoke hearts are thistles also!

There's more, but about infusions, so I'll skip that.
(Am I going to get into trouble quoting from his book? I hope not!!)
TTFN