Carlina acaulis
| Carlina acaulis | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 0.5' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Carlina acaulis (common name: stemless carline thistle)
Propagation: Seed - surface sow in a cold frame in the spring. The seed usually germinates in 4 - 8 weeks at 15°c[1]. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer.
Cultivation: Succeeds in a sunny position in ordinary garden soil[2]. Prefers a neutral to alkaline soil[1][3]. Prefers a poor soil[4]. Established plants are drought tolerant[5].
Plants are hardy to about -20°c[6].
The stemless carline thistle is a protected plant in the wild because of its rarity[7].
This species resents root disturbance, it should be planted into its final position as soon as possible[1]. Plants are usually short-lived or monocarpic[6].
The plant is popular in dried flower arranging, the dried heads keeping their appearance indefinitely[7].
Range: Europe.
Habitat: Poor soils in dry sandy pastures and on rocky slopes[7][8][9], especially on limestone[10].
Edibility: Flowering head - cooked. Used as a globe artichoke substitute[11][12], though they are considerably smaller and even more fiddly[K].
The fleshy centre of the plant is edible[7][13]. Does this refer to the peeled stem?[K].
Root[14]. No more details are given.
Medicinal: Stemless carline thistle is seldom used in modern herbalism. The plant was at one time in great demand as an aphrodisiac[7], it is occasionally used nowadays in the treatment of spasms of the digestive tract, gall bladder and liver disorders, dropsy, urine retention etc[10][15]. The root has also been used in treating a range of skin complaints such as acne and eczema[15]. A decoction of the root can be used externally to cleanse wounds or as an antiseptic gargle[15]. Some caution should be employed since in large doses the root is purgative and emetic[15].
The root is antibiotic, antispasmodic, carminative, diaphoretic, digestive, mildly diuretic, emetic in large doses, febrifuge and purgative in large doses[7][10][8][16]. The root is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use[7].
Usage: The dried flowers respond to the amount of humidity in the air and can be used as hygrometers[9]. Flowers on the growing plant close at the approach of rain[15].
Pollinators: Bees, lepidoptera, self
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Mid Summer-Late Summer
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bird, R. Growing from Seed Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan, 1989.
- ↑ Sanders, Thomas. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge, 1926.
- ↑ Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Chatto, Beth. The Damp Garden. Dent, 1982.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Polunin, Oleg. Flowers of Europe. Oxford University Press, 1969.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Triska, Jan. Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn, 1975.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Stuart, Malcolm. The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism. Orbis Publishing, 1979.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.