The Scottish Thistle

“Among the many familiar plants they encountered in America were native and they introduced the species of thistle. The Appalachian Mountains often reminded settlers of the landscapes they had left behind. The ridges, valleys, rocky hillsides, and cool mountain climate felt strangely familiar to people whose ancestors had lived among the hills of Scotland and Ulster. Thistles grew readily in disturbed fields, along roadsides, in mountain meadows, and around newly cleared settlements. The sight of a thistle may have served as an unexpected reminder of home. The connection became symbolic rather than botanical. The thistles growing in Appalachia were not always the same species found in Scotland, but the meaning endured.”