Cirsium palustre
(L.) Scop.
Asteraceae
Carduus acanthoides Hornem.
Carduus altissimus Gilib.
Carduus chailletii Godr.
Carduus laciniatus Lam.
Carduus palustris L.
Cirsium chailletii Gaudin
Cirsium forsteri Loudon
Cirsium kochianum Loehr
Cirsium laciniatum Doell ex Nyman
Cirsium lacteum Schleich.
Cirsium palatinum Sch.Bip. ex Nyman
Cirsium palustriforme Dalla Torre & Sarnth.
Cirsium parviflorum Lange ex Nyman
Cirsium subalpinum Schleich. ex Rchb.
Cnicus forsteri Sm.
Cnicus palustris (L.) Willd.
Cnicus semipectinatus Thom. ex Steud.
Cynara palustris (L.) Stokes
Onotrophe palustris (L.) Cass.
Polyacantha palustris (L.) Hill
Serratula palustris (L.) Neck.
Common Name: Marsh Thistle
General Information
Cirsium palustre is a prickly, biennial plant producing a basal cluster of leaves and an erect flowering stem around 30 - 150cm tall[
17- Title
- Flora of the British Isles.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Clapham, Tutin and Warburg.
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Year
- 1962
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of materials.
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
17- Title
- Flora of the British Isles.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Clapham, Tutin and Warburg.
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Year
- 1962
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
,
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
Range
Throughout most of Europe, but absent from the southeast, extending through Russia to western Siberia and Kazakhstan
Habitat
Damp soils in meadows, marshes, hedgerows and woodland[
5- Title
- Food for Free.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Mabey. R.
- Publisher
- Collins
- Year
- 1974
- ISBN
- 0-00-219060-5
- Description
- Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.
,
17- Title
- Flora of the British Isles.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Clapham, Tutin and Warburg.
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Year
- 1962
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
].
Properties
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Other Uses Rating |  |
| Habit | Biennial |
| Height | 0.90 m |
| Pollinators | Bees, Flies, Lepidoptera, Beetles, Self |
| Self-fertile | Yes |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
An easily grown plant, it succeeds in a sunny position in any ordinary garden soil so long as it is moist[
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. Tolerant of light shade, succeeding in woodlands[
17- Title
- Flora of the British Isles.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Clapham, Tutin and Warburg.
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Year
- 1962
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
].
A good bee and butterfly plant[
17- Title
- Flora of the British Isles.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Clapham, Tutin and Warburg.
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Year
- 1962
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
].
Edible Uses
Leaves and young shoots - raw or cooked[
52- Title
- Salads all the Year Round.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Larkcom. J.
- Publisher
- Hamlyn
- Year
- 1980
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation.
,
100- Title
- Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Polunin. O.
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Year
- 1969
- ISBN
- 0192176218
- Description
- An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.
,
183- Title
- Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Facciola. S.
- Publisher
- Kampong Publications
- Year
- 1990
- ISBN
- 0-9628087-0-9
- Description
- 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.
].
Stems - raw or cooked like asparagus or rhubarb[
4- Title
- A Modern Herbal.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Grieve.
- Publisher
- Penguin
- Year
- 1984
- ISBN
- 0-14-046-440-9
- Description
- Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
,
5- Title
- Food for Free.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Mabey. R.
- Publisher
- Collins
- Year
- 1974
- ISBN
- 0-00-219060-5
- Description
- Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.
,
12- Title
- Britain's Wild Larder.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P.
- Publisher
- David & Charles; Newton Abbot.
- Year
-
- ISBN
- 0-7153-7971-2
- Description
- A handy pocket guide.
,
52- Title
- Salads all the Year Round.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Larkcom. J.
- Publisher
- Hamlyn
- Year
- 1980
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation.
,
105- Title
- Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Tanaka. T. & Nakao S.
- Publisher
- Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo
- Year
- 1976
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- The most comprehensive list of 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.
,
115- Title
- The Useful Plants of Great Britain.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Johnson. C. P.
- Publisher
-
- Year
-
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.
]. The flower stalks are peeled and eaten raw or cooked[
183- Title
- Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Facciola. S.
- Publisher
- Kampong Publications
- Year
- 1990
- ISBN
- 0-9628087-0-9
- Description
- 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.
].
Medicinal
None known
Other Uses
The seed fluff is used as a tinder[
106- Title
- The Dictionary of Useful Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Coon. N.
- Publisher
- Rodale Press
- Year
- 1975
- ISBN
- 0-87857-090-x
- Description
- Interesting reading but short on detail.
].
The seed of all species of thistles yields a good oil by expression[
4- Title
- A Modern Herbal.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Grieve.
- Publisher
- Penguin
- Year
- 1984
- ISBN
- 0-14-046-440-9
- Description
- Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
]. No details of potential yields etc are given[
K- Title
- Plants for a Future
- Author
- Ken Fern
- Description
- Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].
Propagation
Seed - sow early spring or autumn in situ. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 8 weeks at 20°c[
164- Title
- Growing from Seed. Volume 4.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Bird. R. (Editor)
- Publisher
- Thompson and Morgan.
- Year
- 1990
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.
].
If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.
Useful Temperate Plants Database 2016 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
