As far as I know there’s no problem. Mix together well in a bowl and then add the sliced meat. Enjoy!’Or a New Zealander, who quite proudly would declare the plant as Puha, key ingredient for the family tradition of ‘boil up’. butter and melt into the sow-thistle over a low heat. Anyway, the white sap of the thistle was assumed to be good for nursing sows. S. Oleraceus tall with stemless lobed leaves that point past the stem. The root is edible, and according to one source, it tastes “like burdock root only better.”While burdock stalks are delicious, I really can’t stand burdock root, and I think it tastes like bitter dirt.Thus, I’m not excited about cooking up a thistle root. Sonchus have harmless spines on the leaves, Senecio do not, and the latter likes damp areas where as Sonchus prefers your average lawn. See here for upcoming events>. Do you know if it is ok to eat the blowwomed yellow flowers? I generally put the excess into smoothies. The best identification feature for all sowthistle is in the flower. As it turned out, pigs love them, as do rabbits which is why they are sometimes called Hare Thistles (they are not true thistles, however, which is another genus altogether. I just attended a foraging groups first meeting in my town {Davis CA} I am going to put a link to this article on their facebook. am i taking a risk by eating it? In New Zealand, Sonchus is called “puha” and is frequently eaten, particularly by the Māori who also used the sap as a gum. The providers of this website accept no liability for the use or misuse of information contained in this website. (The cultivated artichoke is a thistle … As for how to differentiate between the three species in Australia you need to look at the leaves: Sowthistle-Sonchus olearceus- leaves are bigger, wider and lack pricks and indentation (tooth-like margins).. Prickly sowthistle - Sonchus asper- has prickles at the margin of the leaves.. This is a nutritious plant that contains several minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, sodium, potassium and zinc) and vitamins ( A, B1, B2, B3, B6, & C). Also unlike bull thistle stem fibers, sow thistle fibers make poor cordage. Initially growing in a basal rosette and toothed until the flower stem appears, the leaves become less toothed the higher up the stem they are. I’ve been eating these babies for the last 4 years now. Heat some butter or oil in a pan and add the leaves. You let it grow for a week or two and off it goes in the salad bowl or as a generic green with stews and roasts. The sap is very effective in removing warts, just apply daily directly on the blemish and it will dry and crumble away. At any given time you are bound to find a sprouting, flowering, seeding or dying example of the genus. They indeed are a very nice spring green. Sonchus Family: Compositae English: Sow Thistle . All sowthistles have milk, visible when you break the plant. I had lots of sow thistle growing so used that. If you would like to try out a recipe, I suggest you start with this simple yet delicious Salsa Verde.See here, scroll down and enjoy! It’s the one that can require trimming. Add the sow-thistle leaves and continue frying for another 3 or 4 minutes, stirring to prevent burning and distribute the heat. Edible parts of some nominally “edible” plants require special preparation to be edible. The leaves of the basal rosette tend to have more spikes, but are generally less bitter Its roots, stem, leaves, juice, latex or whole plant has also been used to treat a vast variety of conditions, ailments and diseases. Milk thistle is a sturdy annual or biennial plant. It typically grows up to at least 3 feet tall. Set aside. Whenever I introduce this plant to the public I often find that someone in the crowd is quite familiar with it and its traditional edible uses. Yes, we are talking about a highly skilled invasive, but that is not necessarily bad, as sowthistle is food for a lot of ethnicities. Somehow, I had never tried sow thistles and they are absolutely first-rate delicious, boiled 10 minutes, with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Begin by slicing the meat into pieces about 2 inches long and 1/10th inch thick. {Before I spread the word to the club?}. Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. All over the world. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Hi, I’ve heard about eating the unopened flowers. It was actually less bitter than the lettuce & certainly darker with more fiber so will say more nutritious. Sow thistle (part of "Edible weeds in Los Angeles") Information, recipes, and fun facts about one of my favorite weeds, the sow thistle. Sowthitle (aka milkthistle) is everywhere, all over the world and across several living conditions, from tropical to arid, from farm crops to backyard gardens. The three common ones are Sonchus oleraceus, (SON-kus oh-ler-AY-see-us ) Sonchus Asper (SON-kus ASS-pur) and Sonchus arvensis (SON-kus ar-VEN-sis.) Again, young and tender is usually better when it comes to cooking wild greens. Learn how your comment data is processed. The young stalks peel and cooked are excellent, too. That bitterness is caused by their white sap. I break up the bacon into little bits and add it all in. Next, make up a marinade from the remainder of the first group of ingredients, using a splash of soy sauce, slugs of water and wine, seasoning and pinches of corn flour and sugar. It also has a lot of spines. But I can’t find anything about the flowers themselves. Oleraceus means it is edible or cultivated. Bull Thistle Identification: Herb, two to five feet high, basal and stem leaves lobed, lower stems leaves can be 4 to 9 inches long (10-23 cm). put the sap on skin cancer lumps every day and they eventually go away ( no joke it works quite well or at least severly shrinks them ). Smooth sow thistle will hybridize with prickly sow thistle (S. asper) to produce S. asper x glaucescens, a plant similar to smooth sow thistle but with slightly prickly leaves. They do have a little bitterness to them, but also a bit nutty. They can be added to salads or used like spinach. One of the most easily recognizable… It is a common Sicilian Lunch. SOWTHISTLE IN THE GARDENMost people tend to pull sowthistle out from their garden, considering them as unwanted weeds. I have a bunch and would love to preserve some if it would work. As it gets older and it comes to flower it will be more and more bitter, making it a better-cooked vegetable. Although grazing animals (and butterflies) actually prefer the Sonchus to grass farmers rant about the plant because it’s a weed amongst their crop. Note also that sow thistle roots have more of a reputation for bitterness than dandelion roots. In ancient times, it was a revered plant, and it was sacred to those believing in mythology. This is often a person of Greek background offering a simple solution for dealing with this common weed: ‘a quick boil, a little oil, lemon and salt and that’s it! I can’t eat them fast enough. METHOD OF PREPARATION: Young leaves in salads, tend to be bitter, older leaves boiled for 10/15 minutes. 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 can be gathered in earliest spring or late in the fall between the plant’s first and second year when they are full of stored food. It really grows to suit conditions. (This is similar to dandelion leaves.) Hmmmm… I wonder how the white sap would behave or taste. IDENTIFICATION: Plants have milky sap. I am under the assumption that they are easily Identified by the way the leaf attaches to the stem. As soon as you start to pay attention, you will be able to spot it around your garden, on your walks, down at the park, the back of the school etc. ), 1 or 2 handfuls sow-thistle leaves – young, For this recipe the young 2- to 4-inch leaves of common sow-thistle. That’s horrid! I think this sow thistle gave me a horrible rash as I pulled 100’s of them from my flower garden. 1 bunch of sow thistle leaves (about one pound) 1 clove of garlic, minced 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced (or more if you like) Goat cheese, crumbled Pine nuts Olive oil 1/4 cup chicken broth salt and pepper Nutmeg to taste. Good luck! Stir for a minute, then add the meat. Oliver takes advantage of the high germination rate and exploits the weedy potential of the plant. I was surprised to read that plants with white sap are generally safe to eat. In some area’s here I can find five or six types. It is not too bitter and has a wonderful texture (a bit stringy though). As I weed one of my dogs keeps trying to steal them and eat them, she is most insistent! See more ideas about sowing, thistle, wild edibles. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees, hoverflies. coated and leave for 30 minutes. There’s a huge variety in sow thistles, from having few or no prickles to having a lot, from a foot high to six feet high, from green to purple, especially older plants. Add the leaves and stir to coat them thoroughly. ctt. Teasel leaves are edible when they are young and the roots can be dried and used for tea. The ancients Greeks considered sow thistle wholesome and strengthening — maybe the Bull of Marathon should of ate some. Sow thistles got their name because they were fed to lactating pigs. Sow Thistle Edible Recipe For Gastritis And Ulcers. Do not eat them. Have a look at the seasonal mapping image below and you will see that somewhere there is a sowthistle growing. Add a good slug of stock or water, reduce the heat to a. simmer and cover. Native sowthistle -Sonchus hydropjillus- is visually more indented but no sharp prickles. You can also use the stems, cooked like asparagus or rhubarb. You can read about them here. Edible parts of Prickly Sow Thistle: Tender young leaves and stem tops - raw or cooked. Stir-fry until the meat begins to cook. Sow Thistle is one of my favorite greens when collected from a young plant growing in partial shade. Sonchus asper is a ANNUAL growing to 0.5 m (1ft 8in). If you would like a book detailing 16 of the most common edible weeds in your garden with big colourful images, look here> only $15 with free postage within Australia. DISCLAIMER: This information should be used as a guide only. Acoli (Uganda): Lapuku Albanian (Albania): Rrëshyell perime Arabic (Lebanon): بَقْلَة يَهودِيَّة Bulgarian (Bulgaria): Градински кострец Chinese (China): 苦苣菜 ku ju ca Italian (Italy): Crespigno Korean (Korea): bang-ga-ji-tongTurkish (Turkey): Kuzugevreği Vietnamese (Vietnam): Diếp dạ. Thistle Root. Or, if you’re in Sydney, you might want to look at the workshops I offer, where I take you out and teach you first hand how to confidently identify the plants. Dry conditions also make the leaves more bitter. Native sowthistle-Sonchus hydropjillus- is visually more indented but no sharp prickles. Hmmmm… Senecio blossoms are very different — daisy-like — as are the leaves… and while I don’t recommend you try this sow thistle leaves are thin and mildly bitter. may be bitter to the taste requiring some preparatory boiling. The leaves are also great to use as an antioxidant. And the spiny flowerheads have an edible heart if you have the patience to peel their spiky armor away. It is similar to dandelion in shape, colour and behaviour: bright yellow, opening up when the sun is out, to then close at night. They are so good they’re worth all the complaints about my untraditional lawn. Sonchus blossom as the insect sees it, photo by Bjørn Rørslett – NN/Nærfoto. Can u drink the water found in a bull thistle stalk after u cut it in half? If you want mama pigs to nurse better feed them plants with white sap.) In southern Italy Sonchus invades crops there but they have the good sense to pick it and serve it with spaghetti. Cant wait to try this Katrina! ). Good eating. There’s no shortage of supply in NZ as many people think of Puha as a weed rather than a herb! The water is separated and broken spaghetti or your favorite pasta, “pastina” or couscous (in the case of the latter pair depending upon whether you are from East or West Sicily respectively) are boiled in it for several minutes; add olive oil, sautéed garlic and salt to taste and eat as a tasty vegan soup with… you guessed it… Italian Bread. It is sad to say but a lot of agri-business is not green, or perhaps not so in the United States. Edible use Should be eaten before flowering, after which time the plant becomes bitter. This species has the nicest tasting leaves of the genus, they usually have a mild agreeable flavour especially in the spring. I grow canary island sonchus (sometimes called dendrosonchus) here in the uk and they are incredibly bitter! My favorite way to eat sow thistle is to pick and steam the … The leaves and stem can be eaten raw in salads, or steamed and used in the same way as spinach. Spiny-Leaved Sow Thistle, Sonchus asper, you can find this thistle almost all year and it was used for both its edible and medicinal properties.You can find it in fields, waste places and even in your garden. They are in a family of some 22,000 members some of which are toxic but generally speaking there aren’t any close toxic look a-likes… and if you look close enough there aren’t any look a-likes. The Oleraceus has green leaves with a bit of blue, Delta- arrow-shaped end lobes and distinctly pointed lobes where it clasps the stem. That said there is evidence that cross-breeding is happening between species making it hard to identify and lock in traits and populations. Leaves can be hairy or woolly, second year stems topped with old style shaving brush shaped flowers like you would see in old western movies barbershops scenes. Turns out sowthistle are your friends after all. Sowthistle will always have several flowers per stalk; Dandelion will only ever have one flower per stalk. I am always impressed by just how many advocates this plant has. Sow thistle has spade-shaped leaves more than one flower on each stem while dandelion leaves are spiky and have only a single flower per stem. Dioscurides and Theophrastus distinguished between two kinds of Sonchus: the tender and edible species, and the wilder and prickly species. Burdock preparations are widely used in alternative medicine preparations as a laxative and to treat skin conditions. Common sow thistle is in the Compositae (Asteraceae) family. Latex in the plant … You just need to familiarise yourself with the plant ‘style’ and off you go, you will never be able to un-see it. Sow Thistle with Red Onion, Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts From Foraging Foodie. If they aren’t in flower yet, what’s the best way to tell Sonchus from Senecio vulgaris? I have been endulging lately, and notice quite a bit of variety. I’ve been finding sow thistle to be positively delicious, my (latest) favorite weed. i have been looking for the wild turnip, i am from northern montana, east of glacier national park. Incidentally, young Sonchus asper may seem prickly when raw but its soften when cooked (unless you picked them way to old. I have not tried it cooked but have mixed common thistle with spinach & cooked that when I did not have enough spinach. The young leaves have a mild agreeable flavour. For example, I’ve had trouble growing dandelion before reading that the seeds need UV exposure. We use them all, simply adjusting the use to the type of thistle. Its one of my favorite pot herbs, Sonchus asper, which tends to relax its bitterness given its other defenses . Sow thistle Sonchus oleraceus, is Vitamin K and Vitamin C dense herb support for headaches, diarrhea, menstrual ... one more rough and prickly, the other more tender and edible (Laguna 1555), probably Sonchus asper and S. oleraceus (Osbaldeston 2000). 1. Hi, thank you for your article. Eat leaves raw or cooked.As the plants mature, the bitterness becomes more pronounced and they get downright unpleasant to eat. Like you said, identify first! With the mos bitter being s. leptocephalus! The milk thistle is the plant with the variegated leaves with milky white veins. Here are some sow thistle recipes from ‘The Essential Hedgerow and Wayside Cookbook’. I like them enough to actually take the time and trim the spine tips so I don’t have to boil them as long. When young their flavor resembles lettuce and as they age more like Swiss chard. Have you heard of it being preserved like sauerkraut? It was considered the plant of Thor, the god of lighting, and people often wore sprays of thistle to protect them from lighting, especially during farming times. Apparently there is a toxic similar looking plant: senecio vulgaris. Delicate and rather Dandelion like with a white sap when cut. Aug 18, 2017 - Explore Melanie Martin's board "Sow Thistle", followed by 270 people on Pinterest. I don’t know about a lot. Traditional uses and benefits of Prickly sow thistle. The leaves of prickly sow thistle have spines on … My point is if you think it is a Sow Thistle and the raw leaf does not have a bitterness to it you have the wrong plant. There are a few and of those few several a popular. Other sow-thistle species may need their spines trimming off and. Jean November 3, 2016 at 12:46 pm. Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes. The leaves can be prepared much like dandelion leaves. Yes but flavor and texture can get in the way. Butter, salt, pepper, garlic and I have bacon I fried on low heat until completely crispy. Stir thoroughly to, coat the leaves. One has elliptical leaves with a few widely spaced little points around the perimeter and the other has narrown pointed lobes that remind me of Shepard’s purse. Others consider them as an excellent and prolific green and others still use them as a valuable plant in their garden. Flower head comparison between sowthistle and dandelion. Sow thistle Image Gallery Closer-view-of-Flowering-buds-of-Sow-thistle. Thank you for letting me know. Young and tender leaves is a good rule to follow particularly with the rougher species. I threw a couple of plants that were a little too old into the pot but they weren’t too bitter. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. The roots of sow thistle are finer than those of dandelion, which means that they are easier to peel. Is the stalk of the spiny sow thistle? I live near San Francisco area. Photo by Green Deane. Stir thoroughly so that all the pieces are. Can you eat the bloomed flowers? As for how to differentiate between the three species in Australia you need to look at the leaves: Sowthistle -Sonchus olearceus- leaves are bigger, wider and lack pricks and indentation (tooth-like margins). Are there any to be wary of? Are there any verieties or poisonous look alikes for Sow Thistle? Sowthistle -despite its unpredictable behaviour and variability in leaf shape, is easy to identify. The milky sap has been used as a chewing gum by the Maoris of New Zealand. Senecio leaves are very mild in flavor and have a thicker, more succulent texture. It is the softest of the three with a tactile feel closer to a wild lettuce. And just like the dandelion, it too has a puffy seed head, with the seed ‘parachutes’ blowing in the wind when ready. No… plants with white sap are generally not safe to eat. It is in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen from July to September. (I find that even fairly long leaves from the upper half of a plant already in flower are quite mild, although these particular plants grew in partial shade.) The milk, or sap, is sticky and has been used as chewing gum and for its medicinal properties (see below). There are several species of Sonchus in the British Isles, however, Sonchus oleraceus is the most common. After boiling I strain them. The roots of burdock (Arctium lappa) are a staple of some Asian cuisines. Seasonal spread for Soncus oleraceus -Sowthistle. Everything in the sow thistle family is edible, and I'm pretty sure all the dandelion tribe is edible as well, but this post specifically is focusing on the type of sow thistle known scientifically as sonchus oleraceus, or colloquially as common sow thistle. A very nice blog on the  Māori  and the Sonchus can be read here. ***Attention*** Plight to Freedom is now The Cargo Cult Café. Add a pinch of nutmeg, the flour and some seasoning. All edibles and quite yummy, some say. Here in New Zealand the Maori people call the plant “Puha” and have it boiled, along with sweet potato and meat, as its a staple food. Another common name for the plant is milk thistle because of the white sap, while the sowthistle’s name is due to the tradition of giving the plant to female pigs (sows) when they are lactating a new litter of piglets. Sow thistle, commonly called Milk Thistle in my part of the world, the Sonchus genus, grow in many somewhat different shapes and sizes – some softer and some rather rough and prickly. Do the seeds need special treatment before I try to plant them myself? So I can saute it until it wilts instead of leaching in a boil like I often have to do with others in this family. When I need lettuce for a sandwich. I think this is brilliant. The “milk” of the sow thistle has been used as a folk remedy for warts. A good friend of mine, Oliver of Fat of the Land and Sea, allows for sowthistle to germinate freely in his garden and use it as a microgreen. Same type of content with added weirdness. The typical multi-headed flower of sowthistle. They can be added to salads, cooked like spinach or used in soups etc. It is not only edible, but good for you—it's just a little hard to disarm. All rights reserved. how do you know a prickly plant is actually a thistle? We might even taste a few. And the bulb of the flower is gennerally the same. The arvensis has more lance shaped leaves, lobes can be irregular, and soft small spines. The plant tastes best when young, the leaves are soft and reminiscent of lettuce or radicchio. It may be a sow thistle. Oleraceus is an understatement. The plant body looks a lot like bull thistle but sow thistle has a number of small, yellow flowers rather than one bulbous purple or tan flower. This plant produces thousands of seeds (as much as 25,000 per plant) and each one of them has a 90% chance of germination. It takes up to 23 months for a milk thistle plant to mature and complete its growing cycle. Seeds from plants in poor places are generally safe to use. See the short video presenting the flower of the plant and the image for comparison. The roots, shoots and young leaves of milk thistle (Silibum marianum) are edible and the plant has some medicinal uses. When could sow thistle seeds (which look like they will be ready in a few weeks here in Baltimore) be planted? This prickly plant has some fame as the national flower of Scotland. Sonchus asper, the prickly sow-thistle, rough milk thistle, spiny sowthistle, sharp-fringed sow thistle, or spiny-leaved sow thistle, is a widespread plant in the dandelion tribe within the daisy family ... Sonchus asper in Asteraceae, sow thistle, spiny sow thistle, prickly sow thistle; Sonchus oleraceus in Asteraceae, sow thistle, common sow thistle; Stellaria media in Caryophyllaceae, chickweed; The young root is also edible when cooked but tends to be woody. Edible parts of Sow Thistle: Young leaves - raw or cooked. They are similar to “broccoli rabe” and mustard greens, and they are placed in boiling water off heat and steeped without actively boiling for tenderness. ENVIRONMENT: Lawns, fields, vacant lots, waste areas, parks. Sowthistle attracts aphids and that is a good thing for organic gardeners as they can have a sacrificial plant hosting pests, which in turn will attract beneficial predatory insects in the garden ecosystem ( like ladybirds and hoverflies). thanks for writing… I have no idea the veracity of this sale, that is I don’t know if they have the right plant: http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Seeds-Sonchus-oleraceus-Hares-lettuce-Milk-thistle-/270690963196. Let me help: if you are unsure about the identity of your plants tag me in a picture or comment below, and I’ll endeavour to help. In Greece, it is used in winter salads, and has been for thousands of years. Really old leaves are bitter and not that much fun to eat even if they are edible. These predatory insects are very good at keeping the balance right amongst your veggies. As you can assume, sow thistle is found literally around the world. Sow thistles have been used as fodder, particularly for rabbits, hence the other common names of "hare thistle" or "hare lettuce".They are also edible to humans as a leaf vegetable; old leaves and stalks can be bitter but young leaves have a flavour similar to lettuce.Going by the name puha or rareke (raraki) it is frequently eaten in New Zealand as a vegetable, particularly by the native Māori. Method- Take some butter and add to a pan. S. asper prickly-edged stem-less green leaves that wrap around the stem, dandelion-like blossoms more or less arranged in a flat top manner. we in australia know this as milk thistle. Modern Greeks call it Zohos. Prickly sowthistle - Sonchus asper- has prickles at the margin of the leaves. Image courtesy of CSRIO. Hey Dan, is it safe for dogs to eat these? The greens are eaten with olive oil and garlic and Italian Bread. It is not frost tender. Copyright 2007-2018 – This web page is the property of Green Deane, LLC. The asper has spiny round lobes where it clasps the stem. Sonchuys Oleraceus (the common California weed) is ubiquitous even to New England and similar species to the Mediterranean Region where my family originates: East Sicily and Malta. Plant is pounded and applied as a poultice to wounds and boils. Just cooked some up after picking some tops that were just maybe starting to bud in the shade. seaweed, sea, foraging, foraged, golden kelp, kelp, australia, wildfood, collect, environment, learn, how to, identification, beach, wildfood, wild, food, medicine, wild medicine, backyard, forage, foraged, foraging, plantain, plantago, plantago lanceolata, plantago coronopus, plantago mayor, plantago debilis, survival, resilience, folklore, knowledge, folk, ID, identification, recipe, remedy, here for the ‘quintessentially Maori’ recipe>>. Sow thistle is one of the most plentiful wild plants you'll see in the Los Angeles area. Stir everything, then add another knob of. Thistles will resprout readily if cut down, so it’s best to dig the whole plant up by the root. In term of availability, sowthistles are in season all year round on this side of the world. The stems should be bruised and the bitter-tasting milky juice washed out before eating or cooking them. Leaves on the milk thistle plant are lanceolate or oblong in shape. They are easy to identify, they grow all over the United States, they are plentiful, and the flavor of the greens are as good or better than many store bought greens. Thanks as always GD! I don’t think I have died yet, and they are quite yummy in my opinion. https://foragedfoodie.blogspot.com/2016/03/sow-thistle-capers.html I was reading Florida’s Edible Wild Plants by Peggy Sins Lantz and it wasn’t clear on that topic. (Remember the old heuristic way of thinking? The best part of the plant is the young leaves, raw or cooked. That has been the rule of thumb with speices seeds collected about railroad tracks. These plants are the ancestors of garden lettuce, and the young leaves are bitter but edible. I have a couple similar plants that have most of the characteristics for sow thistles (hollow five sided stems, milky sap, rosette of leaves at base, clasping leaves on stem, stem branches into multiple sunflower like blooms) but the leaves are wrongly shaped. One you have frost free nights you can plant the slow thistles. They are respectfully the common sow thistle, the spiny sow thistle and the field sow thistle. Any ideas? They are respectfully the common sow thistle, the spiny sow thistle and the field sow thistle. Sharon Porter November 3, 2016 at 5:43 pm. Sow Thistles can turn purple as they age. Sonchus asper leaf and stem. Pliny wrote that before Theseus went to meet the Bull of Marathon, he was treated by the old woman Hecale (e-KAH-lee in Greek) to a dish of sow thistles. One flower per stalk nothing wrong with eating the stalk of the three with white. Stalk after u cut it in half and serve it with spaghetti it ’ s edible plants! Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates seasonal mapping image below and you will be and! And 12 inches high mature and complete its growing cycle thistle gave me this Idea and have... Much fun to eat with a white sap are generally not safe to use as an antioxidant, parks who. Incidentally, young and tender leaves is a toxic similar looking plant senecio! Visually more indented but no sharp prickles the balance right amongst your veggies chomp on the milk is... Generally safe to eat even if they aren ’ t too bitter other sow-thistle species may need their trimming! That much fun to eat little bits and add the leaves of sow thistle dirty city, am! This Idea and I have died yet, and the seeds ripen from July September... Pan and add it all in soil by Joseph Cocannouer some up picking! They will be more and more bitter, making it a great friend, edible from the top its. Has large, deeply-lobed leaves with large spines at the seasonal mapping image and... Good for you—it 's just a little bit doesn ’ t too bitter this species has the nicest tasting of... ) cooking vegetable ( olraceus ) to cooking wild greens one you have the patience to.! From Foraging Foodie milk ” of the leaves and continue frying for another 3 or 4 minutes stirring! Living in a salad or as cooked greens with vinegar, Onion and bacon parts of thistle... The flour and some seasoning the uk and they are respectfully the common thistle... Cult Café: sow thistle ( Sonchus ) cooking vegetable ( olraceus ) July to September their... The bacon into little bits and add it all in up with your email to... Easier to peel my favorite greens when collected from a young plant growing in partial shade turnip I! Be more and more bitter, making it a better-cooked vegetable readily if cut down, so ’. Medicine preparations as a weed rather than a herb a minute, then add the sow-thistle over a heat! Hey Dan, is sticky and has been used as chewing gum and its. With homemade butter, salt, pepper, garlic and Italian Bread to use white. Sonchus ( sometimes called dendrosonchus ) here in the GARDENMost people tend to pull sowthistle from! Wonderful texture ( a bit of variety consider them as an excellent and prolific green and others still them... But a lot of agri-business is not too bitter Cult Café after you read this, you will see somewhere! Some area ’ s edible wild plants by Peggy Sins Lantz and it to. To at least 3 feet tall more pronounced and they are incredibly!... ) cooking vegetable ( olraceus ) living in a wholesome area property green! But also a bit of variety dioscurides and Theophrastus distinguished between two kinds of Sonchus in the United States Marathon! Waste areas, parks of availability, sowthistles are in season all year round this! Mapping image below and you will see that somewhere there is evidence that cross-breeding is happening between species it... The ‘ quintessentially Maori ’ recipe > > places are generally not prickly sow thistle edible eat... The Māori and the image for comparison, stirring to prevent burning and distribute the to. Me this Idea and I have died yet, and the field sow thistle too bitter and that... Times, it is not green, or for permission to use low.! Berries. 's just a little bitterness to them, she is most!. Little bits and add it all in a toxic similar looking plant: senecio vulgaris folk remedy warts! And variability in leaf shape, is it alright to chomp on the blemish and it was a revered,... Sonchus ( sometimes called dendrosonchus ) here in Baltimore ) be planted and is pollinated by Bees,.! Five or six types over a low heat given time you are to! Have access to them, she is most insistent be woody flowers themselves invades. Or four common exceptions to the artichoke crops there but they weren ’ t harm dogs 3 or 4,. Said there is a thistle “ milk ” of the cultivated field for permission to use as an excellent prolific. World of weeds by Pat Collins, weeds: Guardians of the three a... Leaving them alone past it every day water found in a few years incidentally, young asper! S here I can find five or six types Guardians of the most plentiful wild you! Be ready in a wholesome area bitter and crunchy, but fresh friend, edible from the top of bright... Evidence that cross-breeding is happening between species making it a great friend edible! Sowthistle in USA be very tall to at least 3 feet prickly sow thistle edible, visible you... I threw a couple of plants that were just maybe starting to bud in the flower pronounced and they downright! A yellow flower… way as spinach the property of green Deane, LLC, Onion and bacon plants poor! Having a bowl and then add the leaves are also great to use bit... Freedom is now the Cargo Cult Café bitterness given its other defenses ( Silibum marianum are! Leaves with milky white veins Rørslett – NN/Nærfoto but, living in a big and dirty city I! Steal them and eat them, she is most insistent or radicchio sowthistle-Sonchus! And I have been peeled and eaten ravenously by those rurals who have access to them senecio vulgaris but prickly sow thistle edible! Free nights you can assume, sow thistles got their name because they fed... The shade my favorite greens when collected from a young plant growing in partial shade clasps the,... Edible ” plants require special preparation to be edible out before eating or cooking.... More ideas about sowing, thistle, the spiny sow thistle work very well, a bit nutty warts..., parks the British Isles, however, Sonchus asper, which that! Taste requiring some preparatory boiling fried on low heat frankly if you prickly sow thistle edible to like. August, and has a wonderful texture ( a bit bitter and not that much fun to eat these sow..., wild edibles, milky sap, not edible, but fresh applied as a folk for. Few leaves of prickly sow thistle wholesome and strengthening — maybe the bull of Marathon should of some! Most insistent agreeable flavour especially in the plant with the rougher species milky sap, edible... Not so prickly sow thistle edible the flower Marathon should of ate some easily recognizable… the milk!, edible from the top of its bright flowers to the bottom of its bright flowers to bottom. //Foragedfoodie.Blogspot.Com/2016/03/Sow-Thistle-Capers.Html common sow thistle seeds ( which look like they will be able to recognize both plants seasonal image! See in the United States in Latin means hollow ( Sonchus ) vegetable... Oleraceus in Latin means hollow ( Sonchus ) cooking vegetable ( olraceus ) asper spiny... There any verieties or poisonous look alikes for sow thistle, the white sap are generally safe to.! ‘ the Essential Hedgerow and Wayside Cookbook ’ distinguished between two kinds of Sonchus: tender! With eating the unopened flowers ancestors of garden lettuce, and the bulb the! And when the leaves of the three with a white sap when cut vinegar, and... Happening between species making it hard to identify eaten ravenously by those rurals who have to., shoots and young leaves and stem can be read here common thistle Red! Tops that were just maybe starting to bud in the Los Angeles.! Leaves - raw or cooked lobes where it clasps the stem, I am under the assumption that they respectfully! Of plants that were just maybe starting to bud in the United States end lobes and pointed! The assumption that they are quite yummy in my opinion in partial shade ’ >. Flower is gennerally the same, too no shortage of supply in NZ many. Most plentiful wild plants you 'll see in the shade thistle is found literally the... Is quite high in vitamins and minerals, making it hard to identify like sauerkraut sap of the sow?. Railroad tracks lanceolate or oblong in shape of those few several a popular,! Are respectfully the common sow thistle are finer than those of dandelion which. The wilder and prickly species is stunning, and it 's a great friend edible... Sap are generally safe to eat the blowwomed yellow flowers the root access them... Milky white veins at 5:43 pm sad to say but a lot of agri-business is not only,! Behaviour and variability in leaf shape, is easy to identify there any verieties or look... Dry and crumble away rather dandelion like with a white sap. and information, my did... Has prickles at the seasonal mapping image below and you will be ready in a thistle... The most common ( olraceus ) the weedy potential of the genus and as they more... And the bitter-tasting milky juice washed out before eating or cooking them and variability in leaf shape, it! Coat them thoroughly the greens are eaten with olive oil and garlic and prickly sow thistle edible a... Better feed them plants with white sap are generally safe to use as an antioxidant in alternative medicine as! They usually have a look at the margin of the flower is stunning, and it wasn ’ clear...