Words on Wellness: Thistle
By Karin Uphoff
Nature is moving right along into summer on the coast, despite the low temperatures. The La Nina weather pattern we are experiencing is characterized by a cooler ocean: 4-9 degrees colder (currently 46F at Cape Mendocino), which cools the land along the coast. La Nina is typically associated with lower rainfall in the southern part of the state and pockets of heavy rain in the north. However conditions have never been drier with forty percent lower than average rainfall for our county.
Nature does its best to adapt to severe change and is ever our teacher that way. With environmental disturbance comes opportunity, and thistles (Cirsium spp) excel at taking it. While you may curse wild thistles invading your garden, they typically inhabit over-used, over-grazed land with poor soil. Their roots aerate and hold soil while their bristly leaves discourage grazers and the soil recovers. Meanwhile, thistles provide bees, birds and butterflies much need food and shelter. When dead thistle biomass decomposes it creates a healthy mulch. Pulling out thistles before they flower and adding them to your compost pile will greatly enrich it. But better yet, the whole plant of any species is a healthy edible for us. Many types of thistle have been used in numerous herbal traditions in a similar way for thousands of years. The most famous is milk thistle seed aiding liver detoxification in poisonings and hepatitis. Milk thistle is a common one along the coast and easily spotted by its white ‘milky’ veins. However all thistles have a positive effect on the liver and the whole plant is usable. Other medicinal properties include reducing blood pressure and swellings, treating jaundice, promoting tissue healing and stimulating milk production in nursing mothers.
For all of us facing climate and chemical stress, learning to incorporate wild thistles into our diet can be a healthy adaptation. Stems can be boiled or eaten raw. Scrape the barbs off leaves or bruise them well to eat them raw, steamed, or blended into smoothies and juices. Roots need to be steamed but are also edible. The hearts of the flowers are tiny edibles like the artichokes we cultivate today. Artichoke leaves are used in bitters, like any thistle leaf can. It’s good to know that thistles are hardy survivors and they can still provide food and medicine for many.
