Thistle, Island of Iona, Scotland (@ John Short/Age Fotostock)

Thistle, Island of Iona, Scotland (@ John Short/Age Fotostock)

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• Don your kilt, boil your haggis and raise the Saltire.""It\s Scotland\s special day today
• It is said that Viking raiders in their bare feet stood on this prickly plant and their cries alerted the sleeping Scottish army to the impending danger.""That\s why it has become Scotland\s beautiful floral emblem
• A prophecy tells that seven years before judgment day the ocean will sweep over Ireland and Islay but the place where these thistles grow will swim above the waters.""Where is this Scottish sanctuary?
• Some of the ailments that this flower was believed to cure include headaches, plague, canker sores, vertigo and jaundice.""Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder said that it also cured this hairy problem…