The common name 'sow thistle' refers to its attractiveness to swine, and the similarity of the leaf to younger thistle plants. Nutritional analysis reveals 30 – 40 mg of vitamin C per 100g, 1.2% protein, 0.3% fat, 2.4% carbohydrate. [12], Leaves are eaten as salad greens or cooked like spinach. Like many tasty wild plants, the thistle did not make its way into main stream food channel because of the spines and its two-year growth habit. A bit of research reveals that every part of thistle is edible so long as you can get past the thorns. Frankly if you have to trim spines off sow thistles you’re better off leaving them alone. Texas Groundsel (Senecio ampullaceus) also has flower buds shaped like Sow Thistle but it's buds are yellow and its ray petals are fewer in number but wider than Sow Thistle's. Young leaves provide substance and depth of flavor to other greens, and in salads the yellow flowers prove a bright addition. Proudly powered by WordPress We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The leaves are also great to use as an antioxidant. Prickly Sow-thistle (left) and Smooth Sow-thistle (right) These two extremely unglamorous plants have been occupying my thoughts recently. It is not frost tender. [7] The early Māori people of New Zealand are likely to have gathered it for food and medical use. Then pulse until chopped and mixed up. The flowers also provides a summer nectar source for pollinators In short, you can safely pick (wildcraft) the leaves from these plants and nutritiously mix them through your salad, through your scrambled eggs, put on your pizza, use absolutely anywhere you use greens FOR FREE! Sonchus oleraceus has a variety of uses in herbalism. Cooking sow thistle: Smooth sow thistle salsa If you haven’t tasted sow thistle before, you can try this salsa recipe adapted from Eatweeds. Sow thistle could also be confused with Dandelions, and members of the true thistle family, Cirsium, but both of these are edible. Common sow thistle is in the Compositae (Asteraceae) family. Simple theme. Smooth Sow-thistle flowers first appear in May, but you may see this wildflower blooming as late as November. A pioneer species, it will colonise bare ground that has been disturbed and can be found all year round in most areas including wasteland, rubbish tips, roadside verges and gardens. Edible Parts The leaves, flowers and roots are edible. It is in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen from July to September. Smooth Sow Thistle (Sonchus oleraceus) One plant that looks similar but isn’t safe to feed is wild lettuce (Lactuca serriola), they are easy to tell apart though, wild lettuce has spikes running down the centre of the underside of each leaf, smooth sow thistle on the other hand is smooth. So let's take some time to get better acquainted with the sow thistle. smooth sow-thistle sucks sap of (live) live is parasitised by Golovinomyces cichoracearum a powdery mildew Erysiphales: Erysiphaceae Microfungi on Land Plants: An Identification Handbook, Ellis, M.B. Smooth sow thistle produce thousands of seed although this can vary depending on growing conditions. Use in herbal medicine Smooth Sow-thistle has been used for a number of ailments including fevers, slow or late menstruation and diarrhoea. Huge collection, amazing choice, 100+ million high quality, affordable RF and RM images. Thistles, in this case Cirsium horridulum (SIR-see-um hor-id-YOO-lum) are among the hardest to gather of wild foods, Black Walnuts probably being the worst. [8] Prefers full sun, and can tolerate most soil conditions. [15], Native Americans had many uses for this plant. The flowers on groundsel have green bracts covering most of the flower, these green bracts have black tips which sow thistle lacks. Aloe vera (syn. Now chop the tomatoes put in a bowl and spoon out the sow thistle mixture. The black chokeberry is a deciduous shrub from the Rosaceae family. Texas Groundsel leaves wrap around the stem in the same manner as Sow Thistle but its leaves are fuzzy and covered in fine threads, seeming like spider webs. Sow Thistle (Sonchus arvensis) is wild, edible and nutritious food. [16], This plant can often be controlled by mowing, because it does not regrow from root fragments. It is not frost tender. Identify sow thistle via its pictures, habitat, height, flowers and leaves. [13] The younger roots are also edible and can suffice as a coffee substitute.[14]. Smooth sow thistle has strong medicinal properties and is high in nutrients including calcium, iron and vitamin C. The Yaqui used the plant as a vegetable, where the "{t}ender, young leaves boiled in salted water with chile and eaten as greens." The common name 'hare's thistle' refers to … The species is … [10][11] In Australia it is a common and widespread invasive species, with large infestations a serious problem in crops. It incorporates the leaves of the plant, giving your regular salsa a different taste that you may enjoy: 25 [17], Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae, "Management of common sowthistle | Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry | Queensland Government", Tropicos.org: photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, Tropicos.org: line drawing from Flora of Panama, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sonchus_oleraceus&oldid=994094401, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 14 December 2020, at 02:16. The Sow-Thistle is a well-known weed in every field and garden. The Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum) is an annual plant from the Papaveraceae family. But, the reward is edible stalks, edible leaves trimmed of spines roots and unopened flower bud bottoms. Smooth sow-thistle flowers mainly from June to August but flowering can start in April and continue until the first frosts. Seed that has been saved and dried may be viable for 10 years. A container of chickweed and sow thistle, my current favorite edible weeds At this time I could say that my current favorite plants to forage are chickweed and sow thistle, but who knows what the plant du jour will be in another week or month. It’s very name ‘oleraceus’ is latin for good eating. edible plants • wild plants • foraging • growing food • gardening • rewilding • vegan organic growing • stockfree growing • fruit • vegetables • flowers • british isles • northern hemisphere. The flowers are self-fertile. Find the perfect smooth sow thistle stock photo. The flowers are hermaphroditic, and common pollinators include bees and flies. Its specific epithet oleraceus means "vegetable/herbal". Young sow thistles can just be tossed in the herb pot, where as some older leaves need to be trimmed of the thistles, which is a point of culinary departure. The roots of sow thistle are finer than those of dandelion, which means that they are easier to peel. Mature seeds are formed 1 week after flowering. It is a perennial, growing from 1 to 3 feet high, with hollow thick, branched stems full of milky juice, and … It is native to Europe and western Asia. Less bitter than dandelion, sow thistle leaves are said to be a good source of vitamins A and C, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, calcium, phosphorus, and iron. Etymology The common name refers to the liking of pigs for this plant and the similarity of its leaves to those of thistles. It also has been ascribed medicinal qualities similar to dandelion and succory. You want a thick consistency, not runny. bitter vegetable). In Greek mythology Theseus is said to have eaten smooth sow-thistle to gain power before leaving to slay the Minotaur in its Cretan labyrinth, where it dined on human bodies, bull’s heads and young Atheneans. Fresh seed can be collected and sown the same day. Its specific epithet oleraceus means "vegetable/herbal". The latter is interesting, as juice from the stem is thought to have cathartic properties, and therefore cause the evacuation of the bowels. It is native to Europe and western Asia. Leaf dry weight analysis per 100g (likely to vary with growing conditions) shows: 45g Carbohydrate, 28g protein, 22g ash, 5.9g fibre, 4.5g fat; in all, providing 265 calories. [citation needed] The younger leaves are less bitter and better to eat raw. Sow thistle can be found just about everywhere. Even the closest lookalikes found here are edible – the sow thistles (Sonchus spp) and sea holly (Eryngium maritimum), so when working with the thistles, you can learn to identify and proceed to experiment with complete Food plant of Cattle, deer and rabbits. Other common names include plaintain lily and funkia. It is in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen from July to September. Sonchus oleraceus, with many common names including common sowthistle,[2] sow thistle,[3] smooth sow thistle, annual sow thistle, hare's colwort, hare's thistle, milky tassel, milk thistle,[4] soft thistle,[4] or swinies, is a plant in the dandelion tribe within the daisy family. A. barbadensis, A. vulgaris ) is an evergreen succulent perennial plant belonging to the Aloeaceae family. Theme images by. Sow thistle is one of the most plentiful wild plants you'll see in the Los Angeles area. Raw Edible Plants. [11] Attempts at weed control by herbicide, to the neglect of other methods, may have led to proliferation of this species in some environments. Sonchus asper is a ANNUAL growing to 0.5 m (1ft 8in). This plant is annual herb with a hollow, upright stem of up to 30–100 cm high. In the author's experience the smooth sow-thistle is the one which is most palatable - the leaves of some specimens have turned out to be not overly bitter, but Steaming can remove the bitterness of older leaves. The {Houma} used it as an abortifacient where an "{i}nfusion of {the} plant {was} taken to 'make tardy menstruation come;'" an antidiarrheal; for children that were teething; and as hog feed. In a food processor add the hazelnuts, shredded sow thistle, parsley, garlic, sea salt, olive oil, red Korean chilli flakes. They're very common, easy to tell apart, and superficially share the same growth-forms, habitat and lifestyle. Edible parts of Sow Thistle: Young leaves - raw or cooked. This is a video about how to identify Spiny sow thistle, or some just call it Sow thistle, which is a plant in Dandelion family. It often disappears during very severe winters. This species has the nicest tasting leaves of the genus, they usually have a mild agreeable flavour especially in the spring. No need to register, buy now! & … The first year the plant is j… Flowering tops of Smooth Sow-thistle /Sonchus oleraceus - the leaves of which are an edible foraged wild green. Pima used its gum as a "cure for the opium habit," as a cathartic, and as a food, where the "{l}eaves and stems {were} rubbed between the palms of the hands and eaten raw" and sometimes "boiled." Sow thistle has dandelion like leaves with toothed edges, groundsel has thin, deeply lobed leaves. [9] It spreads by seeds being carried by wind or water. http://www.eattheweeds.com/sonchus-sow-thistle-in-a-pig%E2%80%99s-eye-2/ Learn about wild food with Green Deane. 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