Carlina vulgaris
| Carlina vulgaris | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Life Cycle: | Biennial |
| Height: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Mid Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Carlina vulgaris (common name: 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 an alkaline soil[1]. Prefers a poor soil[3][4].
Plants are hardy to about -15°c[4].
The presence of this species in a meadow usually indicates a poor sandy soil[3].
This species resents root disturbance, it should be planted into its final position as soon as possible[1].
Range: Europe, including Britain, north to 60° N., east to Siberia, Caucasus and W. Asia.
Habitat: Poor soils[4] on dry banks and pastures[3], especially on chalk[5][6].
Edibility: Flowering head - cooked. Used as a globe artichoke substitute[7][8][9][10], though they are considerably smaller and even more fiddly[K].
Medicinal: The roots and leaves are diaphoretic and purgative[3].
Usage: The flower heads expand in dry weather and close in moist weather. The dried flowers will continue to do this for a long time and they thus form a basic hygrometer for use in weather forecasting[3].
Pollinators: Bees, lepidoptera, self
Habit: Biennial
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bird, R. Growing from Seed Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan, 1989.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Triska, Jan. Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn, 1975.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.