Talk:Thistle

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See also Talk:Cirsium for further details It is Scotlands national flower ~Nicole~

It's Scotland's national flower, but it has a much wider distribution than just Scotland
I saw them in Romania at Vama Veche. Perhaps someone could add something about the distribution of thistles worldwide?--h i s  s p a c e   r e s e a r c h 15:53, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

Why the hell did you deface the article and remove all the lengthy content about the Thistle and the Mentality of the Scots? That was completely inappropriate. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.103.46.115 (talk) 20:30, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

thistle is also a common last name... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.94.17.125 (talk) 22:17, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Thistles are also a literal pain to uproot. Spent most of a summer clearing fields, yards, and gardens of them outside London, St Albans, Ratliff, etc. Heather aint so bad, though. The English do NOT compost Thistles, but feed them to pigs. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.113.80.189 (talk) 03:47, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

Thistles occur in the decorative arts of nations other than Scotland. I have noticed thistles on French glass and pottery. Perhaps someone could add information about this topic.truthordare (talk) 13:20, 18 May 2014 (UTC)

Canada
Yeah, that would definately be good to add. They grow in Canada, and I was wondering if they're native or introduced from Britain? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.234.61.232 (talk) 21:46, 10 August 2009 (UTC)


 * That information is currently over at Cardueae, although the answer might depend on how broadly or narrowly you define "thistle". Kingdon (talk) 01:36, 12 August 2009 (UTC)

Deletion of reference to insects
The guy who deleted caption text referring to insects on the thistles should kindly bear in mind that thistles don't grow in a vacuum (yet!) If, to take the case in point, the arachnoid fluff is important to ecological rivals or partners, then that is just as important as anything else about the thistle in question. Please avoid impoverishing articles by removing everything of which you have missed the relevance. You don't say whether you have failed to see the ants or the aphids; the resolution is bad of course, but the aphids are some of the little dull black items half buried in the fluff among the shiny black ants. What did you think the ants were there for? Notice their concentration at the base of the thistle head. JonRichfield (talk) 07:20, 15 July 2012 (UTC)


 * The resolution is so poor that I failed to see either and even now can't make out which black spots are ants and which are aphids. What about providing a better picture instead of getting peevish about a deletion of something you haven't deemed important enough to incorporate into your article on arachnoid cobwebbiness iself? That article mentions some thistles and seems to do so only to provide an example, so if it's so important to ants/aphids, I'd sooner expect it there. Or are insects only (or mostly) exploiting arachnoid cobwebbiness on thistles? Then that should be mentioned here too. --Thrissel (talk) 12:01, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

OK, I apologise (really). I shouldn't have bitten you. What got me going was the idea of a clear separation between the primary subject and its ecology. I did not supply that pic in the first place, and I don't know when I will next see a thistle with arachnoidy and aphids in our current weather, and (if I have my camera with me) I will decidedly do my best to get decent shots. That particular species of thistle doesn't even occur round here AFAIK, though others do of course, some of them arachnoid, and I don't know how soon I'll encounter a suitable substitute; I don't live on a farm or a reserve. As for your reasonable points on arachnoidy in general, they are sufficiently thought-provoking for me to pay special attention to the matter as soon as the weather lets up round here. There are other arachnoid plants in our neighbourhood, including some visited by ants and aphids. Cheers for now. JonRichfield (talk) 18:08, 15 July 2012 (UTC)


 * That's all right. I re-read my edit summary and I have to admit I could phrase it better; I just wanted to say that I didn't see deleting the clause such a big loss for this particular page. Anyway, no hurt feelings on my part, we all fly off the handle now an then. Cheerio, --Thrissel (talk) 16:10, 16 July 2012 (UTC)

plant structure
Not being intentionally ribald, but this article is preoccupied with pricks. (Sorry, I'm annoyed.) I was hoping to learn more about the structure, specifically roots. Are they taproots? I have to deal with a bunch that sprang up right around my gas meter. ```` — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mosesmommee (talk • contribs) 20:07, 20 April 2013 (UTC)


 * You have a point; botanically speaking the article is not very useful. This is one of the drawbacks of the undisciplined growth of WP; some articles are written by professionals following coherent, though often arbitrary and non-uniform schemes, and others by well-meaning and not-so-well-meaning wannabees following no special scheme at all. The result is largely useful, but can be frustrating to use and very frustrating to deal with in general. Part of the problem is that both the choices of names and choices of topics are extremely non-uniform (whether and when main articles use common names, for example). Also, sometimes it actually is necessary to use a common name that plays hob with the scope for botanical generalisations; as an example, thistles are not a monophyletic group; they are not even all in the Asteraceae. In fairness, you will note that all the genera mentioned have articles, but I admit that I cannot see much botanical information in the linked articles. You don't say which thistles are your problem and WP is not a how-to, but just informally I can remark, on the assumption that I understand your needs, that I cannot think of any "thistle" that has no "tap root", or, more relevantly, reproduces by stolons or runners. It generally should be adequate to hoe them out, cutting off the root say, a cm or so underground. Incidentally, if you happen to be contemplating weeding of lawns, once after the blade of a cheap spade had broken off short, I trimmed it to form a sharp triangle. It was the most magical remover of dandelions, thistles and similar weeds that I ever saw (though I could of course design a better one from scratch); inserted into the soil next to the main root then slightly tilted up and thrust forward by one's foot to sever the root or lift it out, depending on convenience, it was quick, easy and non-fatiguing to use. Sounds dead right for your gas meter. No bending, squatting or crawling. Nor kicking against the pricks. Mind you, if you don't like weeding and they still are growing actively and you don't mind waiting a few days for them to die, you could spray them with glyphosate. YMMV! ;-) JonRichfield (talk) 06:25, 21 April 2013 (UTC)
 * They emerged last year, after some fill dirt was put in. I have not let them put up stalks, so have no info about how they would develop.  Will look for glyphosate.  Thank you!  Mosesmommee (talk) 23:33, 21 April 2013 (UTC)
 * You are welcome. Your local garden shop or supermarket should stock a number of glyphosate-based products with trade names such as "Ridder" and "Roundup" (those two have been around for several decades). Check the instructions carefully; the stuff is magic on actively growing plants, particularly young ones, but not much good on static plant material. It is useless against anything that has not yet emerged. It is pretty safe for animals, but most garden plants are sensitive, so beware of spray drift. Save yourself the money if you have few enough weeds to hoe out instead. Good luck! JonRichfield (talk) 10:26, 22 April 2013 (UTC)

Hollow stem question
Please is the stem of the edible thistle hollow? I went foraging today and cut the stem of what I assessed as thistle. I was expecting a solid stem but the plant had a hollow stem so would like help in identifying the edible stem. Milko Ansah-Johnson — Preceding unsigned comment added by Milko Ansah-Johnson (talk • contribs) 21:02, 11 July 2016 (UTC)

Most of the plants called thistles are edible. I'm not sure which thistle you were foraging for. Sow thistles (genus Sonchus) have hollow stems. Typical thistles (genus Cirsium) usually have solid stems. Some of the other plants listed on this page may also have hollow stems. You may have found a Sonchus, but there's no way of being sure from just knowing that it has a hollow stem. A photo would be helpful for identification. Plantdrew (talk) 15:52, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

thistle juice
yes, its a real thing 67.182.242.16 (talk) 04:04, 14 November 2023 (UTC)

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