Thistle : A Weed But National Flower of Scotland

Mystery Behind The World Thistle 

Around 1973, I was inducted into a great institution State Bank of India. It was first and the last job of mine which opened door to a new world : a vast chest of knowledge, chance to upgrade my skills , loads of fun and opportunities to make friends. What intrigued me was telegraphic address of most of its branches , it was THISTLE. I always thought either it is acronym of something or a jumbled word. But interestingly, during a visit to Scotland I come to know that it is name of a flower rather a weed and it is crowned as national flower of Scotland . This honor was accorded to this flower almost eight centuries back. I was surprised to know this fact but there is an interesting story behind it that follows like this : 

In  the mid 13th century during a surprise invasion by the soldiers of the Norse king, Haakon, at Largs (one of western Scotland's coastal towns).After coming ashore, this Viking force planned to creep up on the Scottish Clansmen and Highlanders and overcome them while they slept. This amount of stealth required that they go barefoot - which proved to be their undoing.

Unfortunately for these unwary invaders, one of their soldiers bare feet came down hard on a Scottish thistle and his cries of shock and pain were enough to wake the sleeping Scots.

Leaping to their feet, the clansmen charged into battle and the rest, as they say, is history... and yes, the fiery Scots were victorious .

And because of the heroic role the plant played in the outcome of the battle, the thistle was immediate my chosen as a national emblem.

In fact silver coins showing Thistle on it were issued in 1470 during the reign of King James III (1466 - 1488) , and early in the 16th century it became an integral part of Scotlands' Coat of Arms.

And by the way another variety of Thistle called Thistledown if found everywhere and is one of the most downloaded screensaver around the world