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Carlina acaulis - L.

Stemless Carline Thistle

Author	L.	Botanical references	100, 200
Family	Compositae	Genus	Carlina
Synonyms
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Europe.
Habitat	Poor soils in dry sandy pastures and on rocky slopes[7, 21, 100], especially on limestone[9].
Edibility Rating	2 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Biennial/Perennial growing to 0.15m by 0.25m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats

Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers; Root; Stem.

Flowering head - cooked. Used as a globe artichoke substitute[177, 183], though they are considerably smaller and even more fiddly[K]. The fleshy centre of the plant is edible[7, 105]. Does this refer to the peeled stem?[K]. Root[13]. No more details are given.

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Carminative; Diaphoretic; Digestive; Diuretic; Emetic; Febrifuge; Purgative.

Stemless carline thistle is seldom used in modern herbalism. The plant was at one time in great demand as an aphrodisiac[7], it is occasionally used nowadays in the treatment of spasms of the digestive tract, gall bladder and liver disorders, dropsy, urine retention etc[9, 268]. The root has also been used in treating a range of skin complaints such as acne and eczema[268]. A decoction of the root can be used externally to cleanse wounds or as an antiseptic gargle[268]. Some caution should be employed since in large doses the root is purgative and emetic[268]. The root is antibiotic, antispasmodic, carminative, diaphoretic, digestive, mildly diuretic, emetic in large doses, febrifuge and purgative in large doses[7, 9, 21, 46]. The root is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use[7].

Other Uses

Weather forecasting.

The dried flowers respond to the amount of humidity in the air and can be used as hygrometers[100]. Flowers on the growing plant close at the approach of rain[268].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in a sunny position in ordinary garden soil[111]. Prefers a neutral to alkaline soil[138, 238]. Prefers a poor soil[200]. Established plants are drought tolerant[190]. Plants are hardy to about -20°c[187]. The stemless carline thistle is a protected plant in the wild because of its rarity[7]. This species resents root disturbance, it should be planted into its final position as soon as possible[138]. Plants are usually short-lived or monocarpic[187]. The plant is popular in dried flower arranging, the dried heads keeping their appearance indefinitely[7].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in a cold frame in the spring. The seed usually germinates in 4 - 8 weeks at 15°c[138]. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer.

Links

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[111] Sanders. T. W. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge 1926
A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.

[138] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. 1989
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[190] Chatto. B. The Dry Garden. Dent 1982 ISBN 0460045512
A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[268] Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Orbis Publishing. London. 1979 ISBN 0-85613-067-2
Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Carlina acaulis

Ralf Thu Apr 24 14:14:09 2003

Another web reference with lots of information on edible uses.

Link: Silberdistel

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