Cirsium oleraceum

Cirsium oleraceum, the cabbage thistle<ref name=BSBI07>Template:BSBI 2007</ref> or Siberian thistle, is a species of thistle in the genus Cirsium within the family Asteraceae, native to central and eastern Europe and Asia, where it grows in wet lowland soils.<ref>Altervista Flora Italiana, Cardo giallastro, Siberian thistle, Cirsium oleraceum (L.) Scop. includes photos and European distribution map</ref>

Cirsium oleraceum is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 1.5 m tall, the stems unbranched or with only a very few branches. The leaves are broad and ovoid, with a weakly spiny margin, being pinnatipartite. The flowers are produced in dense flower heads which are 2.5–4 cm diameter, pale yellow, but sometimes tinged pink.<ref>Mansfield crop database: Cirsium oleraceum Template:Webarchive</ref>

Its specific epithet oleraceum means "vegetable/herbal" in Latin and is a form of Template:Wikt-lang ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Distribution

File:Cirsium oleraceum - Distribuzione.PNG

Italian distribution

It is found native throughout Europe, with the exception of Portugal, Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, Crimea, Ciscaucasia, Povolzhye, and the Mediterranean islands. It is found naturalised in the British Isles, Finland, and Central Siberia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is also native to West Siberia, the Altai, and Kazakhstan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Usage

For cooking: In salads the young stems and leaves are edible, and cultivated for food in Japan and India.

Gallery

• Seedling
  Seedling
• Stem (cross-section)
  Stem (cross-section)
• Stem (halved)
  Stem (halved)
• Basal leaves
  Basal leaves
• Stalk leaves
  Stalk leaves
• Bolting
  Bolting
• Flowerheads
  Flowerheads
• Involucre
  Involucre
• Blooming
  Blooming
• Flower
  Flower
• Flower (cross-section)
  Flower (cross-section)