Cirsium vulgare
| Cirsium vulgare | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 2 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Life Cycle: | Biennial |
| Height: | 7' |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Cirsium vulgare (common name: common thistle)
Propagation: Seed - sow early spring or autumn in situ. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 8 weeks at 20°c[1]. A pernicious weed, it really needs no encouragement from us.
Cultivation: The common thistle is a pernicious weed that spreads freely by means of its seed which can be dispersed by the wind over a large area. The seedlings are capable of establishing themselves in grassland. This plant should not be encouraged, and if growing on your land should be cut down before it sets seed. What better way of discouraging it is there than eating it?
An easily grown plant, succeeding in any ordinary garden soil in a sunny position[2].
Range: Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to N. Africa and W. Asia.
Habitat: Fields, waysides, gardens and waste places to 600 metres[3].
Edibility: Root - cooked[4]. A taste somewhat like a Jerusalem artichoke, but not as nice[K]. A rather bland flavour, the root is best used mixed with other vegetables[5]. The root can be dried and stored for later use[6]. 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].
Young flower stems - cooked and used as a vegetable[7][4].
Young leaves can be soaked overnight in salt water and then cooked and eaten[4]. Another report says that they can be used in salads[5]. The taste is rather bland but the prickles need to be removed from the leaves before the leaves can be eaten - not only is this a rather fiddly operation but very little edible matter remains[K].
Flower buds - cooked. Used like globe artichokes[7][4], but smaller and even more fiddly.
The dried flowers are a rennet substitute for curdling plant milks[4].
Seed - occasionally eaten roasted[4].
Medicinal: The roots have been used as a poultice and a decoction of the plant used as a poultice on sore jaws[6].
A hot infusion of the whole plant has been used as a herbal steam for treating rheumatic joints[6].
A decoction of the whole plant has been used both internally and externally to treat bleeding piles[6].
Usage: A fibre obtained from the inner bark is used in making paper. The fibre is about 0.9mm long[8]. The stems are harvested in late summer, the leaves removed and the stems steamed until the fibres can be stripped off. The fibres are cooked with lye for two hours and then put in a ball mill for 3 hours. The resulting paper is a light brown tan[8].
The seed of all species of thistles yields a good oil by expression[9]. No details of potential yields etc are given[K].
The down makes an excellent tinder that is easily lit by a spark from a flint[10].
Pollinators: Bees, flies, lepidoptera, beetles, self
Notes: All the thistles are worth considering, but you do also have to take into account potential weed problems. Probably a better bet are the cardoon and globe artichokes - see the info sheet for Cynara cardunculus.
Habit: Biennial
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: C. lanceolatum. non Hill. Carduus lanceolatus.
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.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Bell, Lilian. Plant Fibres for Papermaking. Liliaceae Press, 1988.
- ↑ Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Davis, Ray and Frank Craighead. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers. The Riverside Press, 1963.