Thistle

Traditional Cree name: okâminakasiy (this plant is an early settler/ non-native plant)

Latin name: Cirsium Spp, Cirsium arvense

Common name: Canada thistle, creeping thistle, briar, prickly shrub

Family: Asteraceae 

Kingdom: Plantae

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Oki, Âba wathtech, Dānít’ádā, Tansi, Hello

Ouch!, yep.. you stepped on a thistle. 

My love for disturbed and dry soils makes me an opportunistic plant that will grow where lots of other plant struggle to grow, for that they call me noxious. 

I am really just found in so many places where the soil is disturbed, even in a parking lot. My long roots go deep and I can stay dormant for a long time in drought conditions until the right opportunity arises to sprout up again. 

My purple or pinky white flowers grow in clusters of urn-like shaped blooms with spikey and pokey leaves. Yes those ones that stick you when you are playing in the field. 

Despite my name, Canada thistle, I am actually an early settler from Europe. As an early settler there has been lots of time to develop a traditional history of use here on the prairies and foothills, my fluff has been used as an insulation and stuffing, as well as for tinder to start fires. My stems were used for cordage and I was also used medicinally, but be aware I have poisonous look alike!

It’s good to meet you 

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