national flower of Scotland
- Flower nameCirsium japonicum
- Scientific nameCirsium japonicum
- Aliasアザミ, 野薊, 薊, ドイツアザミ, Cirsium japonicum, テラオカアザミ
- Place of originEast Asia in Taiwan, Korea, China, Japan
- Place of floweringFields and footpaths
- Flowering seasonMay, June, July, August
What is Cirsium japonicum
The wild thistle (Cirsium japonicum) is a perennial wildflower native to East Asia, native to Taiwan, Korea, China, and Japan, and belonging to the thistle family, Asteraceae. It is considered the national flower of Scotland. It is also known as thistle, teraoka thistle, and German thistle. It grows wild in fields from Honshu to Kyushu. The grass is 50-100 cm tall. The entire plant has sharp spines. The leaves are pinnate, rhizomatous, with spines on the leaf margins, and spread out in a rosette shape at the edge of the plant's face. Flowers are in an infinite inflorescence that blooms from the bottom to the top. From May to August, thin flower stalks emerge from between the rhizomatous leaves, and from the tips of these stalks, head-like inflorescences extend and bloom with numerous clusters of reddish-purple tubular flowers. The corolla consists of only tubular flowers and no lingual flowers. The corolla is 4-5 cm in diameter and the color is reddish purple. After the flower, a long oval thin fruit is produced. It is a food plant of the mountain crow swallowtail butterfly (scientific name: Papilio maackii).
General name:Cirsium japonicum , scientific name:Cirsium japonicum , height: 50-100 cm, leaf: pinnate, phyllotaxis: alternate, margin: spine, Flower inflorescence: head-like inflorescence, Corolla: tube-shaped flowers just a solitary flower head, Corolla Diameter: 4-5 cm, flower color:purple, flowering season: May-August, fruit: achenes, fruit shape: oblong, uses: medicinal.