About Plant Badges

[Sir Didymous]

A little while back some friends invited my wife and I to help start a stempunk group. The idea that they had was for the guys to be of a fictitious military unit. The idea was thrown out there for it to be a Highland regiment. To avoid stepping on the honor and dignity of any actual units or it's members, we have opted to model our kits more on the 79th New Yorkers' original uniforms. One of the ideas that came up and was agreed on was that since most of us have some clan affiliation or another, that we should wear our plant badges with our clan specific cap badges at events. I know the clan Ferguson's plant badge and the others know theirs, but we have one poor guy whose roots are nearly all German or Polish. He was in for the kilts and uses a plain thistle clan-style cap badge, but now he's stuck trying to decide what to wear for a plant badge. One suggested using a piece of thistle, but aside from the impracticality of using a real one, he also doesn't like the idea of a thistle behind a thistle. he said it was "just too generic." I'm sure the clan Stewart may disagree.

I thought that since plant badges originated by people using local plants as identifiers that he should consider using edelweiss, given his German heritage. But he asked me to ask the rabble, well more directly quoted "the guys on that site you belong to..."

So, any thoughts that could help him out?

[IsaacW]

Being fictituous and all... he could do most anything he wanted or that was easily available. I do like the Edelweiss idea. Maybe check this out... http://www.gentlemansgazette.com/sho...fort-belvedere

[Tarheel]

I also agree that Edelweiss would be the best to represent German heritage.
Troops from the Bavarian states collected the flowers during part of their mountain training and wore them as a badge of honor. I treasure mine for that reason (earned in 1977). "All the Way, everyday".

[AFS1970]

Germany also has a tradition of plant badges of a sort. I vaguely remember that they wear flower or sprigs of something in their hats, based on local or regional plants. So perhaps he could find something that would reflect his specific heritage.

[The Q]

A little larger would be the Polish national plant the corn poppy.

[James Hood]

For sure, WW II German Gebirgsjaeger (Mountain / ski troops, literally, "mountain hunters") wore the Edelweiss.

As you are "emulating" a ficticious Highland (Scottish "mountains") unit, another vote here for the Edelweiss.

[AFS1970]

Perhaps THIS could be your unit's theme song.

[Tarheel]

I amend my previous post to also include Oak Tree leaves. Forestry and land management are industries that did come to my birth home in North Carolina from Germany. There are the fables and lore of forests that are still known today.
Thank you Pipersson and IsaacW; I focused on flowers instead of all plant life.
I'll do better next time, "Knock on Wood."

[Sir Didymous]

I think Lor was right in having me ask the rabble. This has brought out a few options and made great cases for them.