#caltrap

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Wednesday 27 September 2017

Centaurea calcitrapa (star thistle, caltrap, mouse thorn) is a biennial or short lived perennial native to southern Europe, it produces prolific seeds and can be invasive of floodplains, dry forests, and grasslands. The plant thrives in a well-drained soil and can grow in areas of low nutrients and very alkaline conditions.

Jill Raggett

[griffinrampant]

The caltrap was a cruel contrivance for galling the feet of horses. It was made of iron, and so constructed that, however it might fall, one of its four sharp points should be erect. Numbers of them strewed in the enemy's path served to retard the advance of cavalry, and a retreat was sometimes secured by dropping them in the flight, and thus cutting off the pursuit.

-From The Curiosities of Heraldry by M. A. Lower

[defrecord-blog]

Kareerist _caltrap by Def Record