Hemistepta lyrata
(Bunge) Bunge
Fox thistle
(c) WATANABE Hitoshi 渡辺仁, some rights reserved (CC BY)
(c) Glenn Leiper, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Glenn Leiper, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves
The shoots and leaves are eaten.
Where to Find It
A cool temperate plant. In grows on mountain slopes and valleys. It grows from near sea level to 3,300 m above sea level. It needs to be in a sunny location.
Asia, Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, SE Asia, Taiwan,
How to Identify
A herb. It grows 60 cm tall. The stems can have many branches. The lower leaves are thin and their lower surface has a white covering. The leaves are broadly sword shaped and 7-21 cm long. They have lyre shaped lobes along the stalk. The leaves on the stem are oblong. The flowers are in round heads 12-14 mm long.
Notes
There are about 400 Saussurea species. It restricts the germination of wheat, rape and radish.
Names & Synonyms
Gangamula, Jichinggae, Pan-nu, Saussurea
References (6)
- Ambasta S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 553 (As Saussurea affinis)
- Famine foods (As Saussurea affinis)
- Hwang, HS, et al, 2014, Distribution characteristics of plant in the Ungseokbong Mountain, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea. Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity. 7(2014) e164-e178
- Kim, H. & Song, M., 2013, Ethnobotanical analysis for traditional knowledge of wild edible plants in North Jeolla Province (Korea). Genetic. Resour. Crop Evol. (2013) 60:1571-1585
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/ (As Saussurea affinis)
- READ (As Saussurea affinis)
