Thistle Reel

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

THISTLE REEL (R4x32) 4C set Thistle Club Members Another Newcastle Collection

1- 8 1s set, dance between 2s, behind 3s to meet and dance up to top
9-16 1s+2s Promenade
17-24 All dance 4 couple Poussette to 2341
25-32 All circle 8H round and Back

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)

Dance Information

The spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare) is a native Scottish wildflower belonging to the daisy family, Asteraceae.
It is a biennial plant, developing a low rosette of spiny leaves during its first year before producing an upright flowering stem in its second. Mature plants commonly reach heights of 1–1.5 metres, although taller specimens occur. The stems are covered with spiny wings, and the purple flower heads are surrounded by sharply pointed bracts.

The spear thistle grows in pastures, field margins, roadsides and other open ground. Its flowers usually appear between July and September and attract bees, butterflies and other nectar-feeding insects. After flowering, the heads produce small fruits bearing tufts of feathery hairs which assist their dispersal. Goldfinches feed on the developing seeds, extracting them from the flower heads with their pointed bills.

The species is widespread throughout Scotland and is among the thistles depicted in Scottish botanical illustrations and heraldic designs. Although the precise species originally used for Scotland's national emblem is uncertain, the spear thistle is frequently identified as a likely candidate. The thistle has appeared in Scottish royal imagery since the fifteenth century and remains a familiar feature of Scottish regimental badges and official insignia.

Flower of the spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare), also known as the common thistle

Spear Thistle (Cirsium Vulgare), A Native Scottish Thistle

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Text from this original Thistle article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Kieran Roy Powell, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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