Centaurea calcitrapa
| Centaurea calcitrapa | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Life Cycle: | Biennial |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Centaurea calcitrapa (common name: common star thistle)
Propagation: Seed - sow April in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
If you have sufficient seed, it can also be sown in situ during August/September.
Cultivation: Succeeds in ordinary garden soil[1][2]. Prefers a well-drained fertile soil and a sunny position[2]. Tolerates dry, low fertility and alkaline soils[2].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[3].
Range: Europe. Probably introduced in Britain[4].
Habitat: Waysides and waste places on sandy, gravelly and chalky soils[4].
Edibility: Leaves and young stems - raw or cooked[5][6][7][8][9].
Medicinal: The powdered seeds are drunk as a remedy for stone[10][11].
The powdered root is said to be a cure for fistula and gravel[10][11].
Pollinators: Bees, flies, lepidoptera, self
Habit: Biennial
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 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.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.