OtterKnow Kids EncyclopediaThistles are tough, spiky wildflowers with beautiful purple or pink fluffy flowers sitting on top like little crowns! The leaves and stems are covered in sharp, prickly thorns. The thistle is the national flower of Scotland.
Thistles can grow in all kinds of places, from meadows and fields to rocky hillsides and even cracks in sidewalks. Some thistles can grow taller than a grown-up person! When a thistle flower is done blooming, it turns into a ball of fluff and the seeds float away on the wind.
- There is an old story that thistles once saved Scotland from an enemy army because a soldier stepped on one barefoot and yelled so loud that it woke everyone up!
- Colorful goldfinches love to eat thistle seeds and use the soft, fluffy down to build the coziest nests.
- Even though thistles look prickly, they are super helpful to animals!
