Life saving plant when in need
http://prepperswill.com/the-thistle-a-great-source-of-food-medicine-and-raw-materials/The Thistle - A Great Source Of Food, Medicine And Raw Materials
The thistle has a bad reputation, almost everyone is familiar with it and its prickles, a number one characteristic. Livestock owners hate it because very few domesticated animals will feed upon the plant. Thistles are despised herbs, regarded as a noxious weed by farmers. However, the way I see it, the thistle is a wonderful plant with many useful treats for preppers and homesteaders.
Once they gain entry into unused fields, it is very difficult to eradicate them. Thistles are considered invader plants, spreading rapidly in disturbed soils. They compete directly with food and cash crops for the limited space, water, and nutrients in the soil. They will live wherever conditions are favorable for growth and reproduction.
Thistle distribution
Singularly or in patches, the thistle prefers dry rocky or moist sandy soils of forest clearings, meadows, swamps, pastures, blackland prairies, open fields, roadsides, railway roadbeds, and along the banks of streams and rivers.
In the mountains, thistles like to grow in open sunny slopes or in the cracks of steep cliffs. Thistles have a worldwide range of distribution from North America including Canada and Mexico, to Europe, Asia Minor, and into the mainland of Asia. They are found predominately in temperate to subtropical climatic regions.
The thistle is known by other common names as brush-Rower and prickly turnip. It is a member of the Compositae or Daisy Family and has several scientific designations as CazrIus, Cirsium, and Cnicus, depending upon the authority being relied upon. The first two terms are New World designation while the last is European.
A forgotten history
Thistles did not always have such an unpleasant reputation, nor were they shunned. In ancient times, the thistle was a revered plant, sacred to the believers of mythology. Thistles were regarded as signs from the god of thunder, Thor. Sprays of thistle were once worn by worshipers as protection from evil spirits, especially lightning.
The plant was even transplanted into fields of ripening grain to chase away maligned forces. The prickly thistle has some fame as the national flower of Scotland. It is credited with saving the Scots in 1263 from an invasion by the fearsome Danish Norsemen of that period in history.
Ruthless hordes of the dreaded invaders landed upon the shores of Scotland to take the land by force. Eager for battle, the Danes failed to prepare breastworks to protect their landing boats. Removing their footwear, they attempted a bold tactic of a night attack upon the unsuspecting, sleeping Scots.
The barefoot warriors encountered no problems, until they accidentally discovered the prickly thistles growing in the open fields surrounding the encampments. Startled screams of pain and shock alerted the gallant defenders and a great battle began. On that day, few Norsemen escaped vengeance as the invaders were driven back to the sea.
The thistle has usage in home remedies and self-help medicine. It gained a reputation in the Dark Ages as a remedy for various infectious diseases. Thistles saved Emperor Charlemagne from defeat. The thistle’s roots were made into a healing medicine for his disease-plagued armies, their good health helped to turn the tide of battle to his favor.
