**************************************************************************** Bull Thistle (Cirsium Vulgare) **************************************************************************** Other Names: Common Thistle, Spear Thistle. Family: Asteraceae Visual Description: Tall, insanely spikey dandelion-on-steriods looking thing with many branching off-shoot stems, each producing a spikey head that blooms into a purple flower. Edibility: Every part can be eaten except the sharp spines. You can cook and eat the stalks, heads, seeds, etc., AND you can even use the flowers to make a rennet (curdling agent) for cheesemaking! Medicinal Uses:YES! Bull Thistle is very much medicinal and can be used for a range of remedies and for general health benefit. General Notes: For real, though, remove all the spines from the plant and keep it away from your eyes. Getting a piece of one of the thistle spines in your eye will literally cause permenant cornea damage. Other than that, Bull Thistle comes with no other needed warnings nor is there anything to worry about! *********************************************** ||____________HEAL THYSELF__________________|| *********************************************** +----------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | Ailment / When to Use | Part Used | Practical Preparation and Dose | How does it Actually Work? | Source | +======================================================================+=========================+================================================================================+========================================================================+========+ | | | Simmer 10 g root in 500 mL water 20 min. | Root bitterness flips the bile switch, which tells | [1] | | Poor digestion, heavy-meal cramps, gassy bloating | Dried root | Drink 1 cup 15 min before each heavy meal. | the liver and gallbladder to release digestive fluids, | | | | | Repeat up to 2 weeks, then break. | so food moves through the gut and gas drops. | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | Neuralgia; TMJ tension; sore jaw after | | Mash handful of de-spined leaves. Warm slightly; | Leaf polyacetylenes calm nerve-driven inflammation; | [2] | | dental work; other external body soreness | Fresh leaves | Pack leaf-mash over the sore spot for at least 30 minutes. | Tannins "tighten"/shrink swollen tissue. | | | | | Replace every 2–3 hours or as needed for pain. | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | | | Chew a ~2 cm piece of fresh plant stalk for 5 minutes, | | [3] | | | | then spit. Repeat 1-3x daily. | Astringent tannins numb pain, shrink tissue, and | | | Toothache; infected gums; canker sores. | Leaf stalk; Root | Or, gargle or use as a rinse. Infuse ~5 grams of herb | the mild antiseptic wash knock back mouth bacteria, | | | | | in 1 cup of boiled water for 3-4 minutes; strain and cool. | reducing inflammation and speeding up healing. | | | | | Use x3 per day as needed. | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | Sore throat, mouth ulcers, hoarse pharyngitis | Dried leaves or flowers | Infuse 1 tsp in 200 mL hot water 10 min; cool; | Tannins tighten weeping tissue while antioxidants | [4] | | | | gargle 30 seconds then swallow a sip; up to 4× daily. | cool the burn, giving the throat a break to heal. | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | | | Steep 10 g in 500 mL water; drink 1 cup 2× day. | | [5] | | Arthritic joints, gout flare, chronic stiffness | Flowering tops; or | Repeat daily for a month or so. | Flavonoids blunt inflammatory signals (TNF-α, IL-6) and | | | | whole-plant decoction | Cloth-soak the hot tea as a compress for 15 | diuretic kick helps flush uric-acid waste. | | | | | minutes on joints and stiff muscles. | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | Puffy ankles, PMS bloat, sluggish bladder flow | Dried leaves or flowers | Tea -- 1 tsp per cup; up to 3 cups over the | Increases kidney filtration so excess water and salty | [6] | | | | course of a day. Repeat for 5-day cycle. | metabolites leave instead of pooling. | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | Sluggish liver, hormone overload, mild jaundice tint | Root decoction | Simmer 10 g root in 500 mL water; 1 cup each | Root bitters push Phase II detox (conjugation) and prime | [7] | | | | morning 3 weeks, break 1 week, repeat if needed. | bile flow, escorting out excess bilirubin and spent hormones. | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | Post-meal glucose spikes; Pre-diabetic | Cooked root; or | Eat ½ cup peeled boiled root with carb-heavy meals | Inulin fiber slows glucose uptake and feeds good bacteria | [8] | | crashes; Gut dysbiosis | Root decoction | or drink 1 cup root tea 30 min beforehand. | that produce insulin-sensitizing short-chain acids. | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | Skin boils, cystic acne, slow-healing sores; | Fresh leaf poultice | Mash clean leaves; pack on wound; bandage; change every 6-8 h. | Tannins shrink tissue edges and dry pus; | [2] | | minor infected cuts and small wounds | | Drink one weak leaf tea daily to support inside-out cleansing. | mild antimicrobials keep bacterial count down. | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ *****LIST OF REFERENCED SOURCES***** _____________________________ [1] The Meaning of Water. “The Bull Thistle Study.” 2020. [2] Herbs2000. “Common Thistle (Cirsium vulgare).” [3] PhcogCommn Journal. “Therapeutic Uses of Bull Thistle.” 2021. [4] Edible Wild Food. “Bull Thistle.” [5] American Herbalists Guild. “Bull Thistle in Spondyloarthropathy.” [6] NCBI. “Diuretic Effect of Cirsium vulgare.” [7] MDPI. “Traditional Uses and Detox Properties of Genus Cirsium.” 2022. [8] Wikipedia. “Inulin.” __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *********************************************** ||_______HEAL THY LAND AND SOIL______________|| *********************************************** +-----------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+-----------+ | Land / Soil Issue | How Bull Thistle Helps | Best Practice in the Field | Source(s) | +=============================+=========================================================+=======================================================+===========+ | Severe soil compaction | Deep taproot drills through hardpan, leaving | Let plants stand one full season; mow or cut stems | [1] | | poor aeration | channels for air and water once it decomposes. | (after seed-bagging); leave roots to rot in place. | | +-----------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+-----------+ | Low organic matter | Large root and foliage biomass break down into humus, | "Chop-and-drop" foliage in late summer; avoid | [1] | | weak water-holding capacity | increasing moisture retention and microbial habitat. | ripping roots—let them feed soil organisms. | | +-----------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+-----------+ | Erosion-prone slopes and | Taproot anchors soil; dense rosette and stalk slow | Seed or allow wild thistles on field margins and | [2] | | bare disturbed ground | surface runoff and trap sediment. | cut-banks; control spread later if needed. | | +-----------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+-----------+ | Heavy-metal contamination | Documented accumulator of Cr and other trace | Grow, harvest whole plants, and remove from site-- | [3] | | (e.g. chromium, aluminum) | metals; draws out contaminants into biomass. | do not compost plants if grown in toxic soil. | | +-----------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+-----------+ | Pollinator scarcity | A top nectar producers!! Flowers feed bees, | Allow patches to flower; bag or clip heads just | [4], [5] | | (especially late season) | butterflies, and other pollinators when | before white seed fluff disperses. | | | | other forage sources are scarce. | | | +-----------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+-----------+ | Low biodiversity | Acts as pioneer species by creating micro-habitat; | Leave scattered plants along hedgerows or disturbed | [1], [2] | | (monoculture edges) | provides seed food and nesting materials for | field edges, then succession-plant natives later. | | | | birds and attracts new pollinators. | | | +-----------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+-----------+ | Nutrient leaching; | Taproot mines deep subsoil minerals (Ca, Mg, K) and | After flowering, chop foliage and leave for | [1] | | weak mineral cycling | recycles them into topsoil via leaf and root decay. | mulch so captured minerals remain onsite. | | +-----------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+-----------+ | Pasture recovery | Quickly colonizes bare manure-rich patches, to | Rotate livestock away, let thistle establish one | [2] | | after over-grazing | signal soil healing and prevent opportunistic weeds. | full season, then reseed with desired forage after | | | | | late fall mow-down. | | +-----------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+-----------+ | Poor microbial and | Root channels bring oxygen; decaying taproots act | Avoid deep tillage; let leftover root bits | [1] | | fungal activity | as substrate for mycorrhizae and beneficial microbes. | decompose naturally to foster fungal networks. | | +-----------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+-----------+ *****LIST OF REFERENCED SOURCES***** _____________________________ [1] Chelsea Green Publishing. “How to Manage Invasive Thistle and Improve Your Soil.” 2024. [2] University of Minnesota Extension. “Bull Thistle.” 2024. [3] Yildiz M. et al. “Phytoremediation of Chromium with Cirsium vulgare.” J. Environ. Sci., 2019. [4] Riley K. “The Bull Thistle Study.” The Meaning of Water blog, 2020. [5] TheBackCountry Field Notes. “Bull Thistle Nectar Ranking.” 2023. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ****************************************************************************** See this plant entry on the JesterScribe website: https://jesterscribe.net/Weeds/Bull_Thistle *******************************************************************************