The Cushag [ Manx Gaelic ] is the Isle of Man's National Flower...a bright yellow flowered plant of the ragwort family. How on earth did the intelligent, forward looking Manx choose for their national flower, an invasive, toxic weed that chokes up fields and can be fatal to animals if eaten . It grows wild everywhere on the Island and in the UK there are constant programs to eradicate the pesky plant. But not in the Isle of Man...it was chosen to be the Manx National Flower. So how come? The following story is true !
Many, many years ago, the 24 wise men we had in Government at that time , were debating long into the night, the choice of a plant to be the Manx National Flower. These Isle of Man worthies, probably all suffering from the dreaded Manx affliction of...traa dy liooar....discussed and debated the pros and cons of numerous plants and flowers without reaching any decision .
Eventually, one guy, obviously fed up to the back teeth with the whole business, and probably wanting to get home, remarked sarcastically and jokingly , ' Why not choose the cushag as our flower. It grows everywhere on the Island.'
They all must have thought this a grand idea and promptly voted this yellow weed as the flower of the Isle of Man. In those far off days perhaps they were not fully conversant with the toxic qualities of this plant....or perhaps they all just wanted to go home ! I don't know, but as I said, this story is true.
Anyway, America and England both have the Rose as their flower. Wales has the Daffodil, Canada the Maple leaf , Ireland the Shamrock and France has le fleur de lis....the Lily , and the Isle of Man has some pesky, invasive , yellow , toxic weed . Ye gods !!
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