Those who have seen the Chief’s pinsel, the triangular flag carried more recently at the games at Killin, Lochearnhead, Grandfather Mountain, Gallabrae/Greenville and at this year’s Edinburgh Tattoo, may not recognize the plant badge from the representation on the pinsel. The version shown on page fifty-six of An Outline of theHistory of Clan Macnab and its Lands is a truer representation, though difficult to examine because of the size of the illustration. Here is an enlarged and altered version of that:

The plant badge of Clan Macnab is Rubus Saxatillus, commonly known as Stone Bramble and uncommonly seen. On this version of the Chief’s pinsel, the heraldic artist’s “artistic license” has produced an apparent enlargement of the blossoms in relation to the leaves. The accompanying photos of stone bramble, as found in nature, should provide more realistic images.
This may be the plant seen growing at the Main Street end of the Dochart Bridge in Killin.
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