THISTLE

This article appears in Volume V26, Page 861 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: THE-TOO

THISTLE , a name, as generally employed, of vague application, being given to almost any herbaceous plant that is of a spiny character. More strictly, it is applied to the species of Carduus. These are Composite herbs with very spiny leaves, and similar bracts surrounding a head of purplish-white, tubular, five-parted

flowers

FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

seated on a pitted and hairy receptacle. The anthers have appendages both at the

apex

APEX

and at the base, and the style has a ring of hairs at the point of bifurcation of the two stigmas. The fruit is surmounted by a tuft of silky-white hairs. The species, chiefly natives of Europe and Western

Asia

ASIA

, are numerous, and some are of

great

GREAT

beauty, though, not unnaturally, looked on with disfavour by the farmer. The blessed thistle is Carduus benedictus; Lady's thistle, the leaves of which are spotted with white, is C. marianus. The common C. lanceolatus seems to be the most suitable prototype for the Scots thistle, though that honour is also conferred on an allied plant Onopordon acanthium, the

cotton

COTTON
COTTON (Fr. coton; from Arab. qutun)
COTTON, CHARLES (163o–1687)
COTTON, GEORGE
EDWARD
- EDWARD
LYNCH
- LYNCH, PATRICIO (1825–1886)
(1813–1866)
COTTON, JOHN (1585–1652)
COTTON, SIR ROBERT BRUCE

thistle, remarkable for its covering of white down, a doubtful native, and on other species. The carline thistle is Carlina vulgaris, a member of the same family as is also the sow-thistle, Sonchus oleraceus. The

great

GREAT

objection to thistles from an agricultural point of view resides in the freedom with which they produce seed, and in the vigour of their underground growth, which makes their uprooting a matter of difficulty. Partial uprooting may, indeed, in the case of the perennial species, increase the mischief, for each fragment left behind may grow into a distinct plant. Annual species might be kept in check were they cut down before the

flowers

FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

appear, but unless all the cultivators in a particular

district

DISTRICT

co-operate the efforts of individuals are of little avail. The Artichoke (q.v.), Cynara scolymus, and Cardoon (q.v.) are very near allies of the thistles. The

Safflower

SAFFLOWER (ultimately from the Arabic safra, yellow)

, Carthamus, another thistle, yields a serviceable dye, the Burdock, Arctium

lappa

LAPPA

, a member of the same family, has an edible root; and numerous allied species have medicinal properties.

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