Cirsium oleraceum



Cirsium oleraceum, the cabbage thistle 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.

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.

Its specific epithet oleraceum means "vegetable/herbal" in Latin and is a form of (oleraceus).

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