Скачать или смотреть Sow Thistles - Identification, Description and Some Edible and Medicinal Uses

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Sow-Thistle - Sonchus spp.
Perennial Sow-Thistle - Sonchus arvensis
Annual Sow-Thistle or Commom Sow thistle - Sonchus oleraceus

In this video I identify and describe perennial sow-thistle and annual or common sow-thistle. They can be found pretty much all over North America, they are often mistaken or said to look like dandelion and prickly lettuce, and they have edible and medicinal uses. I also compare sow-thistle to prickly lettuce and offer some tips on how you can tell them apart.

Sow thistles are often mistaken for dandelion and are related to dandelion as another member of the aster or sunflower family, sow-thistles are an introduced plant from Eurasia that have become established pretty much all over North America. There are several species of sow thistles with similar edible and medicinal uses. The two described in this video are perennial sow-thistle and annual sow-thistle.

Identification of Sow Thistles

Perennial Sonchus arvensis have flowerheads that are 2.5 to 5 cm across. The leaves are alternate and lace shaped, and there are prickles along the edges of the leaves. Perennial sow thistles also have a lot of yellow hairs on the upper part of the stem around the flowering heads.

Annual sow thistle Sonchus oleraceus have smaller flowering heads, about 1.5 to 2.5 cm across. The leaves are lighter colored and softer with a terminal triangular lobe. Higher up on the stem the leaves are less lobed.

Sow Thistles Are Edible

The young leaves of sow-thistles are edible but become more tough and bitter with age. Cooking, changing the water and cooking the leaves again will remove some of the bitterness. The flowerheads can also be chewed like gum. Some farmers will give sow thistles to pigs who are not eating their regular food hence the name sow thistle.

Sow Thistles Have Medicinal Uses

Sow-thistles also have some medicinal applications. In the 13th century , sow thistles were recommended to prolong the virility of gentlemen. They were also believed to increase milk flow for nursing mothers. Teas have been made from sow thistle to calm the nerves and to treat asthma, bronchitis and coughs. The leaves of cow thistles have also been used as poultices and to make washes to help relieve swelling and inflammation.

Please consume wild plants at your own risk! Consult multiple reliable sources before consuming any wild plants! This video is for information and entertainment only!

References

Dickinson, Richard. Weeds of Canada and the Northern United States. The University of Alberta Press. 1999.

Kloos, Scott. Pacific Northwest Medicinal Plants. Timber Press, Inc. 2017

MacKinnon, A. Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada. Lone Pine Media Productions (BC) Ltd. 2014.

Nyerges, Christopher. Guide to Wild Foods and Useful Plants. Chicago Review Press Incorporated. 2014.

Parish, R.; Coupe, R.; and Lloyd, D. Plants of the Inland Northwest and Southern Interior British Columbia. BC Ministry of Forests and Lone Pine Publishing. 2018

Pojar, Jim and MacKinnon, Andy. Plants of Coastal British Columbia including Washington, Oregon & Alaska. BC Ministry of Forests and Lone Pine Publishing. 2004.

Warnock, Caleb. 437 Edible Wild Plants of the Rocky Mountain West. Familius LLC. 2018.