Cirsium dipsacolepis — Edible Plant Database

What to Eat

Edible parts: Root, Leaves, Vegetable

The root is edible cooked. It is thickened and carrot-shaped, and is likely rich in inulin, a starch that humans cannot digest. This starch passes straight through the digestive system and may ferment in some people, producing flatulence. Seed oil can also be extracted by expression.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant.

Asia, China, Japan,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, China, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

A perennial thistle growing to 1 meter, flowering September to November with seeds ripening October to November. Hermaphrodite, self-fertile flowers are pollinated by bees, flies, moths, butterflies, and beetles. Requires full sun and moist soil; adapts to sandy, loamy, or clay soils with mildly acidic to mildly alkaline pH.

Nutrition Score: 38/100

Part	Moisture	kJ	kcal	Protein	Vit A	Vit C	Iron	Zinc
Leaves	80.9	263	63	3	—	—	8.5	—

How to Grow

Propagation: Sow seed in early spring or autumn in situ. Germination usually occurs within 2–8 weeks at 20°C. Can also be propagated by division in spring or autumn.

Medicinal Uses

None known.

Other Uses

The seeds of all thistle species yield a useful oil by expression, though no details on potential yields are given.

Wikipedia

A perennial thistle growing to 1 meter, flowering September to November with seeds ripening October to November. Hermaphrodite, self-fertile flowers are pollinated by bees, flies, moths, butterflies, and beetles. Requires full sun and moist soil; adapts to sandy, loamy, or clay soils with mildly acidic to mildly alkaline pH.

Other Information

It is a commercially cultivated vegetable.

Notes

There are about 150-250 Cirsium species. They grow in temperate regions.

References (3)

Food Composition Tables for use in East Asia FAO http://www.fao.org/infoods/directory No. 765
Kays, S. J., and Dias, J. C. S., 1995, Common Names of Commercially Cultivated Vegetables of the World in 15 languages. Economic Botany, Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 115-152
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/