Carduus crispus

Welted thistle

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(c) Serge M. Appolonov, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Serge M. Appolonov

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(c) Maria Kohanovskaya, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves

Young leaves can be cooked and eaten, though this plant is regarded as an emergency food, used when all else fails. An oil can also be expressed from the seed, as with all thistle species.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It is resistant to drought and frost. It grows on mountain slopes and by rivers between 400-3,600 m above sea level.

Asia, Australia, Britain*, Canada, Central Asia, China, Europe, Kazakhstan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mongolia, North America, Russia, USA,

Countries: Andorra, United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Antigua & Barbuda, Albania, Armenia, Austria, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Barbados, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bahrain, Brunei, Bahamas, Bhutan, Belarus, Belize, Canada, Switzerland, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, United Kingdom, Grenada, Georgia, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Croatia, Haiti, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, St Kitts & Nevis, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, St Lucia, Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Monaco, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Malta, Maldives, Mexico, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Norway, Nepal, Oman, Panama, Philippines, Pakistan, Poland, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Singapore, Slovenia, Slovakia, San Marino, El Salvador, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Trinidad & Tobago, Taiwan, Ukraine, United States, Uzbekistan, St Vincent, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

An annual herb. It is a thistle. It grows 1.5 m high and spreads 1 m wide. The stem is erect and winged. It has spines. The leaves are narrow and have lobes. They are prickly. There are prominent veins underneath. The flowers are small and purple. There are 3 or 4 clustered together.

How to Grow

Succeeds in a sunny position in ordinary garden soil. This species is closely related to C. acanthoides.

Propagation: Sow seed in spring in situ.

Medicinal Uses

The root is alterative and anodyne.

Other Uses

The seed of all thistle species yields a good oil by expression, though no details on potential yields are given. The plant is a favourite foodplant for caterpillars of the Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui).

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Carduus crispus, the curly plumeless thistle or welted thistle, is a biennial herb in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is native to Eurasia and has been naturalized in North America and India.

Notes

There are about 90 Carduus species.

Names & Synonyms

Curly plumeless thistle, welted thistle, Denmark: Kruset tidsel. Sweden: Krustistel.

References (6)

Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 213
Kang, Y., et al, 2012, Wild food plants and wild edible fungi in two valleys on the Qinling Mountains (Shaanxi, central China) Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine; 9:26
Sp. pl. 2:821. 1753
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
Urgamal, M., Oyuntsetseg, B., Nyambayar, D. & Dulamsuren, Ch. 2014. Conspectus of the vascular plants of Mongolia. (Editors: Sanchir, Ch. & Jamsran, Ts.). Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. “Admon“ Press. 334pp. (p. 199-230).
Wujisguleng, W., & Khasbagen. K., 2010, An integrated assessment of wild vegetable resources in Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, China. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 6:34