We passed these superb members of the thistle family without comment on the way to see some Teesdale rarities. They are fairly common here and so no-one remarks on their presence. This thistle has no spines and is always a such a magnificent sight that folk of the old days reasoned that such a splendid flower could be a cure for sadness.
Nicholas Culpepper in 1669 remarked that "The decoction of the thistle in wine, being drunk, expels superfluous Melancholy out of the body and makes a man as merry as a cricket"
Yorkshire bank of the River Tees 21st June 2005
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Added on 27th June 2005