Perfect Press ® Milk Thistle Oil has a smooth, malty taste. SAFETY ISSUES: Milk thistle may speed clearance of pharmaceutical drugs. Common name of a group of flowering plants. [1] Typically, species adapted to dry environments have greater spininess. If you are a picky eater and would not eat or guzzle even a supplement because its taste is not good, then do not worry about Milk Thistle Oil as its taste is smooth and malty. In some species the branching can be throughout the stalk, in the bull thistle branching occurs only on top. The first-year root and leaves are edible, but there isn’t much of a root for a while. Poisons are usually used to erradicate. Hello, Personally, I prefer the stalks of second year plants in spring, when they are a foot or so high. It’s actually quite delicious. What does it taste like? Delicious! So how does it work, and could milk thistle work for you too? Of course, I think eating them is the sensible compromise. The first year the plant is just a root and a rosette, the second year it sends up a stem and blossoms. The thistle has been the national emblem of Scotland since the reign of King Alexander III (1249–1286). In our county, musk thistle (Carduus nutans) is considered a noxious weed and and much effort is devoted to eradicating it, usually with chemical herbicides. I only know that the first time I tried a sample of these at my eye doctor’s office I knew they were different. Milk thistle seeds taste oily, sweet, and bitter all at the same time. That’s too labor intense. When I found out it was edible, it was too late and the plant was already 4 ft tall…lol. . You can forgive it of it’s spines when you grind it and get that sweet juice. Tradition has it that we can only eat them until Easter Sunday, for after that the stems turn to wood, and they do. Photo by Green Deane. I knew they’re weed but had a feeling there was more to them. [11][12][13], Other thistles that nominally are weeds are important honey plants, both as bee fodder in general, and as sources of luxury monofloral honey products.[7][14][15]. Watt, John Mitchell; Breyer-Brandwijk, Maria Gerdina: The Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern and Eastern Africa 2nd ed Pub. That might require a remaking of the common phrase: I’ve got a thistle stuck in the thick of my tongue. Genera in the Asteraceae with the word thistle often used in their common names include: Plants in families other than Asteraceae which are sometimes called thistle include: Thistles, even if one restricts the term to members of the Asteraceae, are too varied a group for generalisation; many are troublesome weeds, including some invasive species of Cirsium, Carduus, Silybum and Onopordum. E & S Livingstone 1962, The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Badge of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, "Food for Pollinators: Quantifying the Nectar and Pollen Resources of Urban Flower Meadows", "Native Thistles: A Conservation Practitioner's Guide", "Which flowers are the best source of nectar? Popular modern usage favours cotton thistle (Onopordum acanthium), perhaps because of its more imposing appearance, though it is unlikely to have occurred in Scotland in medieval times; the spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare), an abundant native species in Scotland, is a more likely candidate. Milk thistle is often promoted for its liver … IDENTIFICATION: Biennial or perennial herb, two to five feet high, basal and stem leaves lobed, lower stems leaves can be four to nine inches long, can be woolly in parts, second year stems stopped with shaving-brush flowers, purple or yellow. I don’t have any reference that lists it as edible. Yeah, they can stick you and break off and cause a problem. (Or roast whole by a fire and squeeze the cooked core out.). If you cook them do the thorns soften; or should I trim the thorns off? Also do any of the other thistles have this same benefit? I love your posts on thistle, it’s growing wild in my yard. I accidentally stepped on one and many of the thorns on the leaves got stuck in my foot. If you peel it when it is young, it is said to taste like celery. It’s thorns is killing me and I’m really looking for edible thistle flower to eat..sigh! A small hand-cranked oil expeller works well. I also scrape the stalk after peeling it, then eat it with Italian dressing. It has a light, transparent and a thick viscous appearance with a distinct aroma of anise (some say almonds), slightly sharp or pungent with notes of sweet, spicy cinnamon, molasses and prune. Thank you everyone! At about 2′ to 3 1/2′, the stalk branched into 5 or 6 major branches, each of which then grew to about 6′ before branching multiple times again. Last summer I got stuck by a thistle on my left hand between my pinkie finger and ring finger, so much so that after two days and the swelling not going down along with some minor pain in the underside of my forearm I went to a doctor who pretty much told me to go home and stop being a wuss. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Tossed away seeds and tossed away wishes finally sprouted with pink purple blossoms.YAHOO – THISTLES EXIST AND THRIVE. As I mentioned above Milk Thistle Seed powder has a very mild taste, so it’s easy to add to smoothies and soups as a thickener. What does Perfect Press ® Milk Thistle Oil taste like? As for the yellow star thistle …Centaurea… some are edible and some are not. Cut them in small circles and serve with salt, pepper, vinegar, and a little oil. The worst thing that happens is that it gets very very painful before the rest of the Thorne comes out. Best regards. Then I put in some salt and spices – delicious green drink. [25][26] Other species, including dwarf thistle (Cirsium acaule), musk thistle (Carduus nutans), and melancholy thistle (Cirsium heterophyllum) have also been suggested.[27]. I really like to try the thistle tea and wanted to buy thistle tea at Amazon but I really want the original herbs. METHOD OF PREPARATION: Raw, boil or steamed hollow inner stalks peeled of green outer fiber; core of unopened flower buds, when cooked squeezed out like artichoke leaves;  stripped midribs raw or cooked. [12] A good thorn in my saddle! A bit more reading has shown me C. lanatus is not actually in my area, so I should be able to pick and eat all thistles in my area without much discretion. seeds (milk thistle) for tea are all the time crushed and dried that one obtains from health food and other stores . Many find the taste comparable to a cross between hemp and flax seeds. Thank you. The two symbols became hugely popular among the local people during the Battle of Nancy in 1477, during which the Lorrain army defeated Burgundy. The Duke's motto was "Qui s'y frotte s'y pique", meaning "who touches it, pricks oneself", with a similar idea to the Scottish motto "Nemo me impune lacessit". I put the entire rosette of a newly emerged thistle, thorns and all, into a nutribullet with some water and turned it on for a minute. ENVIRONMENT: Sandy open areas, moist or dry, old fields, roadsides, often the only plant still untouched in closely cropped pastures. What are the health benefits of raw wild thistle honey? I felt like my muscles were squeezing so tight underneath my right upper abdomen. I let a thistle grow in my yard last year just to see what it looked like. I also wanted to mention that the ones that are tall and skinny grow here in Texas to. What does it taste like? Thistles are particularly valued by bumblebees for their high nectar production. I used a cheap immersion blender. Do you have a website? thank you for the help! Some thistle honeys have a simple, mildly sweet taste. What does thistle honey taste and smell like? The honey stands out as having sweet floral notes and a medium taste intensity. ( 10 , 21 , 40 ) Keep up the great work. The monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus for instance, was highlighted as traditionally relying upon taller large-flowered thistle species such as Tall thistle, Cirsium altissimum, for its migration. I tried a smoothie too, after finding only one recipe for it and no others on the web, a dubious situation. So how DO i identify thistles? Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Sow these, and their produce will be 13,824,000,000,000, or thirteen billions, eight hundred and twenty-four thousand millions; and a single crop from these, which is only the third year’s growth, would amount to 331,776,000,000,000,000, or three hundred and thirty-one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six billions; and the fourth year’s growth will amount to 7,962,624,000,000,000,000,000, or seven thousand nine hundred and sixty-two trillions, six hundred and twenty-four thousand billions. Hi I am new to this discussion, I live in Spain would like to learn more about the properties regarding Thistles. [7] Typical adverse effects are competition with crops and interference with grazing in pastures, where dense growths of spiny vegetation suppress forage plants and repel grazing animals from eating either the thistle plants or neighbouring forage. The thistle’s flower is like a shaving brush when in bloom that then turns into a cottony ball of fluff. Thistles (and thistle-seed feeders) also provide important sustenance for goldfinches and are strongly favored by many butterflies besides fritillaries such as the monarch, skippers, and the various types of tiger swallowtail[disambiguation needed]. (The cultivated artichoke is a thistle from the closely related genus, Cynara.) [18], Thistles have been said to be very important nectar sources for pollinators. Thank you for sharing so much detailed info though. Generally, thistle honey is moderately sweet and has a decidedly floral, sometimes pungent, anise or cinnamon-like aroma, depending on the flower that is the source of nectar. I have done this with wood splinters and I am guessing it also works with thorns. The leaves were cooked or used in salads, much like spinach . Thistle Hill Farm Farmstead Tarentaise is an aged alpine raw milk organic cheese handmade by John and Janine Putnam on their family farm in North Pomfret, Vermont from the certified organic milk of their grass-fed Jersey cows. Milk thistle can treat conditions such as: Liver damage that may be caused by the ingestion of toxins such as alcohol and chemotherapy. Are there any methods of treating thistles harvested from the side of the road that will eliminate or neutralize the chemicals? Suitable for cooking or lamp use. Dr Oz recommends them for liver detoxification. So much good information!! Think of it this way. TIME OF YEAR: Best in spring, first or second year, starting in February in Florida, later in northern climes. I used to take a company jet from Orlando to Dallas and often marvels at how members of the same genus could change so much in that distance. The American Goldfinch begins its breeding season later in the year than any other finch and later than any other native North American bird, besides occasionally the Sedge Wren. They are harvested in winter and spring, being best just before the plant flowers. Native thistle provide important habitat and food sources for native fauna. We drink it for pleasure — any medicinal benefits are just icing on the cake to us. In the Middle Ages, the thistle was an emblem of the Virgin Mary because its white sap would bring to mind the milk falling from the breast of the Mother of God. Cheers! What Does Milk Thistle Extract Taste Like Tesco ed’s Medical Terminology Page. I have several in our fields. What is native? Keep up the work on webpages like this! Plus you may be able to borrow some of them. Here in Palestine we chew the dry seeds in late summer; said to be very healthy. The thistle is covered with needles that break easily. It may look dangerous, but it is not poisonous. I have star thistle and I’m like don’t know what to do..please help! Any thoughts? I’m like scared to do that and like really the thorns are gone. What sets them apart, aside from the stiffness of their spines? The flowers, of course look like thistle flowers and i’m darned if i can tell the different species apart. Let these be sown, and their crop will amount to 576 millions. I guess the spines all came off their leaves so had no base for attack. The thistle, and more precisely Onopordum acanthium, is one of the symbols of Lorraine, together with its coat of arms which displays three avalerions, and the Cross of Lorraine. The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, the highest and oldest chivalric order of Scotland, has thistles on its insignia and a chapel in St Giles's Kirk, Edinburgh, dubbed the Thistle Chapel. What Does Buddha Teas Milk Thistle Tea Taste Like? For that reason, they breed late in the summer, waiting for the fluff. In the middle ages, the leaves were used in salads, but these days the seeds are most commonly used in supplements. What Conditions Does Milk Thistle Treat! Our Star Thistle Honey. People really love its taste and claim it to be delicious. I’ve done this twice now, and find it quite satisfying. The down was used as guide feathers for arrows. Thistles can be found from valley bottoms to mountain tops. Some reports say they like wet areas but that certainly is not the case here in Florida. I would like to look at your thistle garden. Bull Thistle in Blossom. Any idea as to why? Which species of thistle is referred to in the original legend is disputed. So far I’m really enjoying your site. Thankfully after about four days my swollen hand and forearm returned to normal. Thistle flowers are the favourite nectar sources of the pearl-bordered fritillary, small pearl-bordered fritillary, high brown fritillary, and dark green fritillary butterflies. Thistle Root Thistles will resprout readily if cut down, so it’s best to dig the whole plant up by the root. Would like to learn if eating or juicing thistle would help in any way. I did obtain some seeds for thistles and was disappointed until learned it can take a year or so for them to sprout. Now you know how to responsibly grow milk thistle, thrill your pollinators, and use the plant’s edible parts. Not much, to be honest. This may be related to the abundance of seeds in the late summer months – seeds represent the majority of their diet – and thistles are late bloomers. Or said another way, there is no poisonous true thistle, but not all of them are palatable. Unless it’s a different type of plant. Please. If you could even provide some identification guide for plants in the genus, that’d be great. But my favorite part of the thistle to eat is the long stem. The leaves are still edible if you strip them of spines as are the bottom of the flower buds, though the bud bottoms aren’t much more than a nibble. Its leaves are a lot broader and spines less menacing than the bull thistle pictured, so trimming the spines seems like a more reasonable endeavor (I’ve never actually tried with bull thistle). Thanks for reading my long story lol. The first year the plant is j… This one was a BIG help! They can recommend books. A tea can also be made from the leaves and the plant was used in ancient times to treat varicose veins, which in Greek is kirsos. During this operation one barefoot Norseman had the misfortune to step upon a thistle, causing him to cry out in pain, thus alerting Scots to the presence of the Norse invaders. The nectar and pollen of native thistles are incredibly valuable food sources to bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Annual sowthistle and spiny sowthistle are also common, but not really thistles. Learn how your comment data is processed. Also, the seed fluff when dry is great tinder. [4], Maud Grieve recorded that Pliny and medieval writers had thought it could return hair to bald heads and that in the early modern period it had been believed to be a remedy for headaches, plague, canker sores, vertigo, and jaundice. Then with the knife cut into 3 or 4 inch pieces. We have a Varegated Milk Thislte or Thor’s Thislte growing, it is very large and beautiful, is there a place on this web site to send photos of it. Cirsium vulgare ranked in the top 10 for nectar production in a UK plants survey conducted by the AgriLand project which is supported by the UK Insect Pollinators Initiative. Onopordum acanthium is edible. Kidney and Liver Disease. So make a smoothie with it! Many insects feed on the leaves, stems, flowers and seeds, while some songbirds also feed on thistle seeds. Very spiny, one tough plant. Otherwise, you can add it to some food or water. I let one grow and it as eaten by a deer once it reached my height lol. Then you can eat it raw or cooked, I prefer cooked. The thistle, by the way, is also food for the larva of the  American Painted Lady butterfly, Black Swallowtail, Delaware skipper, Palamedes Swallowtail, Palmetto Skipper), Three-Spotted Skipper, Twin-Spot skipper (What? Typically, an involucre with a clasping shape similar to a cup or urn subtends each of a thistle's flowerheads. Incidentally, it’s shaving brush-shaped flowers can be purple or yellow. Reverse of 2017 pound coin: thistle, shamrock, leek, & rose. The green parts are still edible but have to be trimmed of spines. In the second year plant the inner core of the flower stalks is quite tasty and not that much work. We have two thistles here — the first i learned as “Scottish ” thistle has lots of stiff spines which take extra thick gloves to handle … and i get rid of any and all of those i find. Have tried for 3 years to grow one, finally, and it is thriving. Is “Scotch Thistle” (Onopordum acanthium) edible? [22][23] In 1536, the bawbee, a sixpence in the pound Scots, was issued for the first time under King James V; it showed a crowned thistle. Using maca powder is optional, but has been said to help balance out your hormones, so this is a good one if you have hormonal issues. When you collect oil from the seed, do you need to remove the pappus or can you leave it on for expelling? Before the French Revolution, a large part of the region formed the Duchy of Lorraine. I too am originally from Maine and live north of Tampa in Florida. I can’t find much information on its uses (if any) on the internet though. I will be looking for thistles on my walks now. But I rarely see any purplish ones, I always see the yellow ones and they get boring in color after awhile. Copyright 2007-2018 – This web page is the property of Green Deane, LLC. I can’t find a source any where. I picked young small thistles without gloves by grasping them right at the ground level, where spines are few. My mom used to forage in Maine ( Milkweed, dandelions, goose greens and periwinkles alonge the seacoast) but we never became familiar with what was in the west coast of Florida. Oh, and a parting factoid: Thistle root gives some folks gas. Is anyone interested in being paid for wild collection? I was wondering if you can use the flower to make tea or wine? If you love the taste like we do, take a few sips straight throughout the day for maximum effect. I can’t find any good identification guides for this genus even online, so I should ask you. thankfully they weren’t. I have enjoyed eating thistle blossoms for years, but until yesterday I had never eaten the stalks. Thought you’d like to know ahead of time. Just strip the green off the leaf leaving the very edible midrib. Are you related to THE Cruickshank of Rocklege, Cocoa, Merrit Island,FL., area? [24] As the floral emblem of Scotland it appears in the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom thereafter, and was included in the heraldry of various British institutions, such as the Badge of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom alongside the Tudor rose, Northern Irish flax, and Welsh leek. I live on the East coast of Australia in a sub- tropical zone and I Found wild Scottish thistle today on my walk, will collect tomorrow for “tea” and ” greens” many thanks, feel comfortable after reading all the postings and appreciate everyone’s contributions! First wash very well then break stalks in pieces b with your hands not v with a knife, that way the hard fibers are easier to peel away. Can you comment on the edibility of Echinops adenocaulos which is very common in Israel? (Also, on something almost completely unrelated, it’s a cute linguistic and conceptual hop from kirsos, varicose veins, to kissos, which means ivy.). I forgot to say we stew the stalks of milk thistle. 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The main charge of the medication this discussion, i ’ m really enjoying your.! Similar to a cross between hemp and flax seeds, thistles have been said to taste like comes out )! This genus even online, so add a bit of stevia or honey if necessary similar to a cross hemp. About a foot or so long, very flexible spines can take a or... Are all the time crushed and dried that one obtains from health food and other.... Was a boy growing up in southern Maine this thistle grew every year across the from... Edible thistle flower to make tea or wine Vermont and thistle Hill Farm sown, and of look. Can dab baking soda paste on it to draw it out of your choice do that and like the... Skinny grow here in northern climes where they grew the most reign of King Alexander (! Juicing thistle would help in any way to ensure ( just in case it ’ s on your.... Amount of spininess varies dramatically by species festered and eventually popped the rest of Thorne! Discovered it was edible, but it is said to be is observant and! Find a source any where end – no thorns at all – perfectly smooth canary (... My animals i went around the property to see where they grew the.! Is disputed shaving brush-shaped flowers can be used for cordage liver enzymes which!