Cirsium tuberosum
| Cirsium tuberosum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Cirsium tuberosum (common name: tuberous 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. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer or following spring.
Cultivation: An easily grown plant, succeeding in any ordinary garden soil in a sunny position[2].
Plants are tolerant of considerable neglect, though they produce much better roots when given a good soil and some attention[K].
Range: Western and central Europe, including Britain.
Habitat: Damp grassland on calcareous soils[3][4].
Edibility: Root - cooked[5][6]. It can be stored overwinter[7][8]. A slight bitterness but acceptable, it makes a reasonable cooked vegetable[K]. Sometimes, however, the root seems to be very aromatic and is then less than pleasant[K]. The root is 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].
Usage: The seed fluff is used as a tinder[9].
The seed of all species of thistles yields a good oil by expression[10]. 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: Mid Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: Carduus bulbosum. Carduus tuberosus. Cnicus tuberosus.
Links
References
- ↑ Bird, Alfred. Growing from Seed Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan, 1990.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Coon, Nelson. The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Rodale Press, 1975.
- ↑ Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.