THISTLE

[Heb., dar·darʹ; Gr. triʹbo·los].

Any of a variety of plants having prickly, irregular-edged leaves, tough stems, and bearing round or cylindrical heads that produce soft and silky purple, yellow, or white flowers. Adam, and later his descendants, had to contend with troublesome thistles when cultivating the cursed ground. (Ge 3:17, 18) Since their seeds are scattered by the wind, thistles readily gain a foothold in neglected and desolated areas. (See Ho 10:8.) Jesus Christ referred to thistles in illustrating that people, just like plants, are recognized by their fruits. (Mt 7:16) In Palestine it is not uncommon to see a number of star thistles being driven along as a rolling mass by fall winds, a feature perhaps alluded to at Psalm 83:13 and Isaiah 17:13.