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Cirsium arvense - (L.)Scop.

Creeping Thistle

Author	(L.)Scop.	Botanical references	17
Family	Compositae	Genus	Cirsium
Synonyms	Carduus arvensis - (L.)Hill. Serratula arvensis - L.
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to N. Africa and Asia.
Habitat	Arable land, roadsides etc[9, 13], a common weed of cultivated land[17].
Edibility Rating	2 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.9m by 1m at a fast rate.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Meadow; Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves; Root; Stem.

Edible Uses: Curdling agent.

Root of first year plants - raw or cooked[183]. Nutritious but rather bland, they are best used in a mixture with other vegetables[9]. The root is likely to be rich in inulin, a starch that cannot be digested by humans. This starch thus passes straight through the digestive system and, in some people, ferments to produce flatulence[K]. Stems - they are peeled and cooked like asparagus or rhubarb[9, 12, 177, 183]. Leaves - raw or cooked[177, 183]. A fairly bland flavour, but the prickles need to be removed before the leaves can be eaten - not only is this rather fiddly but very little edible leaf remains[K]. The leaves are also used to coagulate plant milks etc[46, 61, 183].

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.

Antiphlogistic; Astringent; Diuretic; Emetic; Emmenagogue; Hepatic; Tonic.

The root is tonic, diuretic, astringent, antiphlogistic and hepatic[207]. It has been chewed as a remedy for toothache[4]. A decoction of the roots has been used to treat worms in children[257]. A paste of the roots, combined with an equal quantity of the root paste of Amaranthus spinosus, is used in the treatment of indigestion[272]. The plant contains a volatile alkaloid and a glycoside called cnicin, which has emetic and emmenagogue properties[240]. The leaves are antiphlogistic[207]. They cause inflammation and have irritating properties[207[.

Other Uses

Oil; Tinder.

The seed fluff is used as a tinder[106]. The seed of all species of thistles yields a good oil by expression[4]. The seed of this species contains about 22% oil[240].

Cultivation details

The creeping thistle is a pernicious garden weed, spreading freely from its aggressive root system[17, K], It can quickly form dense clumps of growth and really does not need to be introduced into the garden. Succeeds in any ordinary garden soil in a sunny position[200]. Plants are often dioecious[17]. A polymorphic species[17].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring or autumn in situ. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 8 weeks at 20°c. A pernicious weed, not many people would want to invite this plant into their garden.

Links

References

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

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[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.

[12] Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles 0 ISBN 0-7153-7971-2
A handy pocket guide.

[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.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[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.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[106] Coon. N. The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Rodale Press 1975 ISBN 0-87857-090-x
Interesting reading but short on detail.

[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.

[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.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

[272] Manandhar. N. P. Plants and People of Nepal Timber Press. Oregon. 2002 ISBN 0-88192-527-6
Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses.

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.

Plant Rennet

Rich Sat Apr 15 16:59:27 2000

According to VegSoc, in the past, fig leaves, melon, wild thistle and safflower have all supplied plant rennets for cheese making.

agsieve also has information about another plant source, using the juice from the plant as a coagulant.

Cirsium arvense

Pam Sherman Tue Apr 28 2009

Re: eating the leaves of Cirsium arvense and C. vulgare: I pick these in quantity when the plant is under 1 foot/.3 meters high, then rinse them to remove dirt and bugs. I find that rinsing (at least under a stream of water) tends to disable the prickers to a noticeable extent. I cut the plant's stem with scissors via gloved hands, but rinse the leaves with bare hands. Then I cook them in water or stock (the latter is tastier) and the prickers are fully disabled. I then puree the leaves with a good quantity of milk (or milk substitute), season to taste with onion, garlic, salt, etc. and have a cream soup. I also put it in quiche or savory pancakes. I tell my friends I'm serving them something special, but don't say what until after they have tasted it and have exclaimed how good it is. You do NOT have to remove the prickers by hand from the raw plant, so it is not a fiddly process. It's a great green vegetable source. I hope you can include this on your American website as well, so people can stop being afraid of eating the leaves of this plant when it is young. Thank you for an excellent website. I live in CO, USA

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