Cirsium edule
| Cirsium edule | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 7' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Cirsium edule (common name: edible thistle)
Propagation: Seed - sow early spring or autumn in situ. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 8 weeks at 20°c.
Cultivation: An easily grown plant, succeeding in any ordinary garden soil in a sunny position[1].
A monocarpic species, it grows for a number of years without flowering but then dies after flowering[2].
Range: Western N. America - southwards from Canada.
Habitat: Wet meadows and open woods in mountains[2].
Edibility: Root - cooked[3][4][5][6]. The root is likely to be rich in inulin, a starch that cannot be digested by humans. This starch thus passes straight through the digestive system and, in some people, ferments to produce flatulence[K].
Young stems - peeled and eaten raw[7][8][3][4]. Soft and sweet[5], they are considered to be a luxury food[6].
Young shoots - raw or cooked as greens[6]. Harvested in spring[6].
Usage: The seed of all species of thistles yields a good oil by expression[9]. No details of potential yields etc are given[K].
Pollinators: Bees, flies, lepidoptera, beetles, self
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hitchcock, Leo. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, 1955.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Saunders, Charles. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1976.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.