Scotch thistle

American  

noun

1. a tall, prickly plant, Onopordum acanthium, native to Eurasia, having stems and leaves covered with cottony down and solitary purple flower heads: the national emblem of Scotland.

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Example Sentences

Clutching her teddy bear, the curly-haired Princess sits upon Newfoundland's new stamp between a Scotch thistle and an English rose.

From Time Magazine Archive

Of course opinions differ as to what was or is the true Scotch thistle, but of the several varieties of thistles many beliefs are entertained.

From Storyology Essays in Folk-Lore, Sea-Lore, and Plant-Lore by Taylor, Benjamin

Scotch kale, a variety of kale; Scotch mist, a mist like fine rain; Scotch pebbles, varieties of agate and jasper; Scotch thistle, the national emblem of Scotland.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

Each morning she would twine a Scotch thistle in her hair, and pin a spray of burdock at her heart.

From Nonsense Novels by Leacock, Stephen

When Australia was first colonised, any sensible man might have foreboded sorrel, cockspur, Scotch thistle, &c., as unwelcome, but unavoidable, adjuncts of settlement.

From Such Is Life by Furphy, Joseph