thistle

noun

1. Any of several perennial composite plants, especially of genera Cirsium, Carduus, Cynara, or Onopordum, having prickly leaves and showy flower heads with prickly bracts.

   “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field [...].”

   “I wasn’t born of a whistle, or milked from a thistle at twilight / No; I was all horns and thorns, sprung out fully formed, knock-kneed and upright”

2. This plant seen as the national emblem of Scotland.
3. An image of this plant used as a charge.
4. The Order of the Thistle, or membership thereof.

   “Here's a passage which will please you: ‘It is said that when rich he twice refused the thistle.’”

name

1. A surname.