THISTLE
Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by 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.
Another story is that a Viking attacker stepped on one at night and cried out, so alerting the defenders of a Scottish castle. Whatever the justification, the national flower of Scotland is Scots Thistle, Onopordum acanthium. It is found in many Scottish symbols and as the name of several Scottish football clubs.
Thistle flowers, along with bugle and brambles flowers, are favourite nectar sources of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, High Brown Fritillary, and Dark Green Fritillary butterflies.
Pictures taken By Spera Gerardo at Pomarico (Italy)
1 commenti:
One of the worst plants to get in your yard is the Scottish thistle. They are a pain to remove, and anyone who has done so would give extra cash to see they never return. The Scottish thistle, though revered as the Flower of Scotland and the emblem of the Scottish people, is an invasive species that has invaded every continent, much to the chagrin of the inhabitants. It usually has a deep root structure, painful spines on the head of the plant, large hairy leaves, and a distinctive purple rose which is quite beautiful considering the nuisance it grows from. A cash advance for some Scottish thistle remover might not be ill spent
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