Sonchus Asper seed
LATIN NAME: Sonchus asper
COMMON NAME: Spiny Sow Thistle
Spiny sow thistle is the fine, tough, yellow-flowered plant of the waysides and the fields, and its bright-yellow, dandelion-like flowers and the spiny, toothed leaves have made it a familiar of the countryside for a very long time. The upright, hollow-stemmed plant carries the spiny, deeply toothed, glossy-green leaves, and the clusters of the bright-yellow, dandelion-like flowers open through the long season, to be followed by the white, downy seed heads. The young leaves are a fine, fresh green of the spring, gathered and eaten in the salads and the greens of the region, and the plant is a fine, easy, generous self-sower. It is a plant of the ordinary, well-drained ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
Spiny sow thistle has a steady and growing place in the plant science, and the plant has been studied for its fine, tough growth and its place among the wild greens of the old world. The spiny, toothed leaves and the bright-yellow flowers have been studied closely, and the plant keeps showing up in the work on the wild edible greens and the wayside perennials. The downy seed heads and the easy, self-sowing habit have also made it a fine garden plant, and it is a regular subject of the studies of the wild greens and the pollen plants of the countryside.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Spiny sow thistle is grown for the bright-yellow flowers and the young leaves. The bright-yellow, dandelion-like flowers are a fine food for the bees and the hoverflies through a very long season, and the white, downy seed heads are a fine food for the seed-eating birds. The young, tender leaves are gathered in the spring and eaten in the salads and the cooked greens of the region, and the plant is a fine, easy, generous self-sower of the ordinary ground. It has been written about in the food and the botanical papers for its fine, fresh spring greens and its long flowering season, and it is a fine, easy plant of the wayside and the wild garden.
Spiny sow thistle is one of the fine wild greens of the spring, and the young, tender leaves are gathered and eaten in the salads and the cooked greens of the region. The bright-yellow, dandelion-like flowers open through a very long season, drawing in the bees and the hoverflies, and the downy seed heads feed the birds of the autumn.
In the right spot the spiny sow thistle is a fine, dependable, generous plant, and it asks for very little beyond the sun and the ordinary, well-drained ground. The bright-yellow, dandelion-like flowers keep opening through the long season, and the downy seed heads follow them in the autumn.
To grow the spiny sow thistle from seed, scatter the fine seeds over moist, free-draining soil in the trays and press them in lightly, keep them in a bright, open spot and water gently. The seedlings push through within a couple of weeks and grow on fast. With the sun and the ordinary, well-drained ground, the bright-yellow flowers will be there through the long season.
Sonchus asper
‘Prickly Sow-thistle’
Asteraceae: an upright, hairless annual or biennial that grows to 1m, found on cultivated and waste land ground. The broken steam exudes a milky white sap. The flowers are 20mm across and bright yellow, appearing from June-October. The glossy green leaves are wavy, crinkly and have sharp margins. Widespread and common. Native to most of Europe, including Britain, south and east from Scandinavia to North Africa, North and West Asia.
USES:
The tender young leaves and stem tops can be eaten raw or cooked. They can be added to salads or used like spinach. The young leaves have a mild agreeable flavour. The stems should be bruised and the bitter-tasting milky juice washed out before eating or cooking them. The stems have been peeled and eaten raw like celery.
The plant is pounded and applied as a poultice to wounds and boils.
GROWING INFORMATION:
Surface sow seeds in spring or late summer in situ. Succeeds in most soils in a sunny position.