Medicinal teas made from perennial sow thistle have been used to calm nerves and to treat asthma, bronchitis and coughs. You need – Two handfuls of sow thistle, butter, water, a pinch of ground nutmeg, One tsp flour, salt, and pepper for seasoning. Wet a towel with cold water. The leaves and stems emit a milky sap when cut. The plant is a shrub or small tree and exudes a creamy sap that is laden with chemicals known as heptadecyl catechols. An infusion has been used to bring on a tardy menstruation and to treat diarrhoea. Ways To Use 1. Smooth sow thistle produce thousands of seed although this can vary depending on growing conditions. The milky sap also has a distinct somewhat bitter smell- if you've ever smelled dandelion sap, sow thistle's sap smells similarly. The latex in the sap is used in the treatment of warts. Some herbalists recommend sow thistle for use in salves for healing hemorrhoids, ulcers and other skin irritations and as a bitter and a tonic. The leaf form and flower colour may vary slightly depending on where they are grown. How to control sow thistles Field sow-thistle is native to Eurasia and introduced worldwide. There are many recipes online. The leaves of prickly sow thistle, as its name suggest, are covered in small spines on their margins. Place it over the bumps and reapply as necessary to provide discomfort relief. Often plants with white sap are not edible, but for sow thistle the entire plant is edible and nutritious containing carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals. The leaf sap is very useful in easing out the ear wax and reduces symptoms of pain. The plant was commonly fed to lactating sow hogs because it was believed to aid in milk production (probably because of the milky sap produced). Perennial sow thistle flowers are larger and resemble the dandelion. Sow Thistle Edible Recipe For Gastritis And Ulcers. It helps to treat ulcers in the body as well. This is the reason for the common name “Sow” Thistle. The dried sap of annual sow thistle was used to treat opium addiction. Some of the plant fibers or sap may still be embedded in the fibers and may expose you again. The perennial sow thistle (Sonchus arvensis) is often confused with the annual sow thistle (Sonchus oleraceus). One plant will produce several flat-topped arrays of flower heads, each head containing numerous yellow ray flowers but no disc flowers. Photo credit- Joaquim Alves Gaspar Sow thistle's flowers are very similar to dandelion flowers- made up of many tiny yellow petals, in the shape of half a pompom. Some say the roots can be used as a coffee substitute, but I would say coffee extender. The main difference between the two is that the annual sow thistle has much smaller flowers (less than 2.5 cm across) than the perennial sow thistle. It is also said to have anticancer activity. It was first found in Pennsylvania in 1814 and occurs across the United States and Canada in a range of habitat types, including wet and saturated soils. The symptoms usually subside after a … Herb: Sow Thistle Latin name: Sonchus oleraceus Family: Compositae Medicinal use of Sow Thistle: The plant is emmenagogue and hepatic. Spiny sowthistle is primarily a weed of pastures, hay fields, landscapes and roadsides. Wash the clothes you were wearing when you came into contact with sow thistle. The stem is upright and exudes a milky sap. Spiny Sow Thistle (Sonchus asper): An annual that has bluish-green leaves and stems that emit a milky sap when cut. Contact with the sap, which turns black when dried, causes a livid swollen rash with blisters, though some lucky people are immune. Plants grow to around one metre in height and have a flower very similar to a dandelion. It is found throughout the United States. It is considered a noxious weed in … I experimented with an older plant, about 2-feet tall. Distribution. Sow thistles produce a milky latex sap when any part of the plant is cut or damaged.