Cirsium occidentale
| Cirsium occidentale | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 9 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 3' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Cirsium occidentale (common name: cobwebby thistle)
Propagation: Seed - sow early spring or autumn in situ. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 8 weeks at 20°c[1].
Division in spring or autumn.
Cultivation: An easily grown plant, succeeding in any ordinary garden soil in a sunny position[2].
This species is not very frost hardy and is unlikely to succeed outdoors away from the mildest areas of Britain[2].
Closely related to C. coulteri[2], it hybridizes with that species in the wild[3].
Range: South-western N. America - S. California.
Habitat: Sandy places by the coast and into the nearby hills[3].
Edibility: Root - cooked[4][5][6]. A pleasant taste after prolonged boiling[7]. 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].
Stem - peeled and eaten raw[5].
Usage: The seed of all species of thistles yields a good oil by expression[8]. No details of potential yields etc are given[K].
Pollinators: Bees, flies, lepidoptera, beetles, self
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Bird, Alfred. Growing from Seed Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan, 1990.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Munz, David. A California Flora. University of California Press, 1959.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 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.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.