Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Carline Thistle

[00:00:00] Hey y'all, welcome to this week's show. Today we're going to talk about the Carline Thistle. Now several varieties of thistles are used medicinally and as far as I know all thistles are edible and they're really pretty widespread. I mean it's real easy to find bull thistle really throughout, I mean everywhere east of the Mississippi. And you know when it's young and tender you can peel the stalk and eat it.

[00:00:31] You can the roots are edible. Anyway, really good edible plant but the Carline Thistle has some interesting characteristics. Usually I look for thistles in old pastures and there's so many old pastures where I live. If I go on any hike, if I'm not in the woods I'm usually wandering through an old cow pasture and I'm going to find thistles. And I've stepped on thistle before, that's not real fun at all. Try not to do that barefoot.

[00:01:01] Really, really unpleasant. But yeah, most all of them as far as I know are edible and really a good survival food. You know we've, what would you call it, domesticated a few thistles for the garden such as the artichoke. And oh the other one that's not coming to me right now. But anyway, and I love artichokes. If you like artichokes, you'll like most thistles. They taste a lot alike. So anyway, Carline Thistle.

[00:01:29] Carline Thistle has good medicinal properties. And several of the thistles do have very strong medicinal properties. And it can be different. Like milk thistle is very different than Carline Thistle. The other thing about Carline Thistle is it's one you may want to grow in the garden because you can eat the flowers. You pull the choke out. It's just like an artichoke.

[00:01:53] So really going back to ancient Greece and Rome and such. I mean, Pliny the Elder wrote of thistles mainly as food. And Dioscorides specifically wrote about the Carline Thistle. And he said it's leaves are similar to Salibum, which is milk thistle.

[00:02:19] Or Cardus natans, it's musk thistle. And they're various ones that he said, you know, it's like. It's the prickly, the prickles on it. You know, essentially the stingers. The root is thick. And let's see. He goes on. All right. So medicinally, he says vinegar. It's taken. Let me see if I can get this. My tongue untwisted. This thistle infused in vinegar, taken as a drink, could expel broadworms.

[00:02:47] He said it was taken in wine with a decoction of oregano. For dropsy, a teaspoonful of this is given to you with wine to ease them. People with dropsy or, you know, edema, essentially. A decoction is taken as a drink for frequent painful urination. Taken as a drink with wine is an antidote to poison. That's probably how it made its way into the Swedish bitters, because the Swedish bitters kind of comes from theriac and mithridrate,

[00:03:16] which were poison-wreth formulas, anti-poisoning formulas that became digestive bitters as time went on. Medicinal bitters. Let's see. Neated with polenta, then diluted in water and oil, could be used to kill mice and such. That's interesting. I'm not sure how that worked. So by the Middle Ages, several thistles were used in monastic medicine.

[00:03:41] St. Hildegard von Bingen used what she called lady's thistle, which was likely milk thistle, usually associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary or Our Lady, so it's called lady's thistle. She recommends lady's thistle for pain in the heart or a stitch or sharp pain in the side. And she recommends eating thistle as an antidote for poison and used externally for rashes. Now, why the stitch to pain in the side? That can be caused by a couple of things.

[00:04:07] Normally when you're running or, you know, whatever, and you get that stitch in your side, that's actually sort of a friction between the lining of the lungs and that area of the diaphragm. It can also be caused by a large liver, and milk thistle is extremely good for the liver. It can actually help regenerate damaged liver. Even it's used as an antidote for Amanita mushroom poison,

[00:04:35] like the destroying angel or death angel mushroom that essentially dissolves the liver. Or German physicians use a strong extract of milk thistle as an antidote. It protects the liver even from such a toxin. I don't think that's really used in hospitals in America. But definitely look into that, you know, if you have any liver issues. German folk medicine, Brother Aloysius said, Blessed thistle. That's a Canicus Benedictus.

[00:05:04] That's a different thistle. But like I said, there's a lot of common use in these. Used for intermittent fevers, stomach complaints, wind, dropsy, jaundice, hypochondria, and irregular menstruation. Powder of the plant recommended for sores, infused in wine for scrofula. That's an infection of essentially the lymph nodes of the throat. And for tumors and ulcerations, powder and wine used for phlegm in the chest. Particularly good stomatic, excellent for weak stomachs,

[00:05:33] for the intestines, for the lung and liver complaints. A tea made from it cures diarrhea and weakness, also chronic diarrhea. Worms are killed by it for good and prevents them from multiplying as it stops the formation of mucus in the intestines. Now, for carlene thistle, he listed, The root is a stomatic, dissolves mucus, especially in cases of catara, pain in the side, and nervous complaints. Cleanses the intestines and kidneys. Stimulates the appetite. Is an efficacious remedy for hysteria.

[00:06:02] Blockages of the liver and spleen. Stones. And above all, promotes menstruation. Now, in the Polish tradition, Sophie Hotroik's nab tells us that Carlene thistle has traditionally been used in Poland as both a remedy for impotence and to ward off the evil eye. The evil eye was apparently blamed for several ailments and annoyances, even including tangled hair. So, you know, take that with a grain of salt.

[00:06:31] But, you know, even in modern times, in the Middle East especially, the evil eye is considered to be a thing. I knew a girl from Tel Aviv. She was very rare to be, you know, an ethnic Jew from Tel Aviv. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. And because of that, the Muslims especially in the area thought she had the evil eye.

[00:06:56] And she was kind of ostracized even in some of the more traditional Jewish communities. But a very interesting person. Anyway, 1500s England. Gerard listed the Carlene thistle and the dwarf Carlene thistle. Not sure if there's any difference between the two at all. But he describes them. And, you know, they seem to be the same. It's just one grew a little smaller than the other. But he said, The root of Carlene, which is chiefly used,

[00:07:26] procureth sweat and driveth forth all kinds of worms from the belly. It is an enemy to all matter of poisons. It doth not only drive away infections of the plague, but it cureth the same if it be drunk in time. Being chewed, it helpeth to toothache. It openeth the stoppings of the liver and spleen. It provoketh the urine, bring down the menses, and cureth the dropsy. And it is given to those that have been beaten or have fallen from some high place.

[00:07:58] He said the juice, also being drunk, is of like virtue. He said it was also good against pain in the side. Good for sciatica, backache, and for them that are troubled with cramp. Culpepper wrote of several thistles under their common English names. Hard to know which one he was referring to. So I'm going to just kind of skip ahead because Miss Grieve, English herbalist in the 1930s, wrote of the carling thistle.

[00:08:27] Carling vulgaris, she named it. And she said that this actually was the wild thistle that Culpepper mentioned, but, you know, that's not really important to us right now. But interestingly, she said the name of this plant was Carolina, so-called after Charlemagne, of whom the legend relates, A horrible pestilence broke out in his army and carried off many thousands of men, which greatly troubled the pious emperor. Wherefore, he prayed earnestly to God,

[00:08:56] and in his sleep there appeared to an angel who shot an arrow from a crossbow, telling him to mark the plant upon which it fell, for with that plant he might cure his army of the pestilence. And the herb apparently cured his army of the pestilence. So it was named after the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, and now we call it carling. So anyway, she gives pretty much the same uses.

[00:09:25] She does mention that it has, can be combined with Elcampane, another herb, and when it does, it has a diaphoretic action, meaning it helps break a fever. But in large doses would be purgative, so strong laxative. Oh, and also had a camphorous nature, the smell like of camphor from the essential, the volatile oil, so not the plant in its natural state. But that was antiseptic, so that's an interesting use.

[00:09:54] So in modern use, plants for future, interestingly enough, because they're usually quite, what's my word? Thoreau says of carling thistle that the root and leaves are diaphoretic and purgative. Now, that's interesting because Ms. Greve said it was the essential oil. I'm not sure that Plants for a Future got that one right. But interestingly enough, the Physician's Desk Reference for Herbal Medicine,

[00:10:21] that's the book your doctor would use to look up an herb, to tell you if it's safe or, you know, whether it contraindicates with, you know, some prescription or whatever. It says that the medicinal part of the plant is the root. It says that carling thistle is the root of carlina aculus, collected in autumn and dried. It states that the chief compound is the volatile oil carlina oxide.

[00:10:48] The essential oil hinders the growth of staphylococcus. Now, isn't that interesting? So, another reason you might want to grow carling thistle because the essential oil of the root is specifically good against staphylococcus, and staph infections can be awful. Awful and also has mild diuretic properties, spasmodic and diaphoretic effects. It says under folk uses used internally for atonic gastritis, dyspepsia,

[00:11:18] that's basically just burping an upset stomach, diseases of the biliary tract, colds and fevers. Externally, it's used as a wash for dermatosis and a rinse for wounds and ulcers as a mouthwash to alleviate symptoms associated with cancer of the tongue. And it states, no health hazards or side effects are known in conjunction with proper administration of designated therapeutic dosages. The carling thistle, as I mentioned,

[00:11:48] is only one of many edible and medicinal thistles. I enjoy, like I said, I enjoy thistles. I'm a huge fan of artichokes. And the cardoon, the cardoon is the other one that is domesticated. But like I said, the carling thistle can be grown and the flower eaten as well. But here is sort of a brief list of edible thistles. Find out which of these grow in your area

[00:12:16] and look up the individual uses and the edibility of them. All right, it's a long list, so get ready. You're probably going to have to replay this one a couple of times. But Cardus crispus, that's welded thistle. That's W-E-L-T-E-D, welded thistle. Cardus nutans, that's musk thistle. Carlina aculus, that's stemless carling thistle. Carlina vulgaris, that's carling thistle.

[00:12:43] Carthomnus lanatus, that's distaff thistle. Centuria calicotropa, common star thistle. Centuria iberica, Iberian star thistle. Centuria melatoninsus, multi-star thistle. You know what, I'm just going to give you the common names. This is getting ridiculous. So, St. Barnaby's thistle. Blue sow thistle.

[00:13:12] Stemless thistle. Creeping thistle. Indian thistle. Eaton's thistle. Edible thistle. Now, that's just an interesting common name, isn't it? That's cerisum edule. That actually means edible thistle in Latin. So, woody thistle. White thistle. Cobwebby thistle. Cobwebby, like cobwebs. Um, yellow spined thistle. Cabbage thistle. Pale thistle. Marsh thistle. Tuberous thistle. Uh, that's, uh, cerisium tuberosum.

[00:13:42] It has the tuberous roots that, um, like, uh, I was telling you that, uh, bull thistle can have. Very good survival food. Wavy-leaved thistle. Common thistle. That's cerisum vulgari. Uh, blessed thistle. Conicus benedictus. That actually just means blessed thistle. So, um, globe thistle. Uh, scotch thistle. Cotton thistle. Prickly Russian thistle. Thistle sage. Spotted golden thistle.

[00:14:12] Milk thistle. Field milk thistle. Prickly sow thistle. Shore sow thistle. And sow thistle. So, those are, uh, the 38 thistles that have documented use in herbal medicine. Uh, as I said, the bull thistle is another one. Um, and there are probably several others that are edible. Probably have medicinal uses, but they haven't really been documented. So, check out the thistles in your area. They can be troublesome weeds.

[00:14:40] They can, you can either curse them or love to eat them and use them and, uh, really come to appreciate them. As I have. Um, remember, God created every, everything in the world that includes all the plants. And he looked at them and said they were good. So, there is a good use for every single plant. There are many plants that can be misused. But there is a good use for every single plant. Y'all have a great week. And I will talk to you next time.

[00:15:08] The information in this podcast is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. Nothing I say or write has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I'm not a doctor. The U.S. government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine. And there is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I'm really just a guy who studies herbs. I'm not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write or say is accurate or true. I can tell you what herbs have been traditionally used for.

[00:15:35] I can tell you my own experience and if I believe in herbs help me. I cannot nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use an herb anyone recommends, you are treating yourself. You take full responsibility for your health. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, a sensitivity, an underlying condition that no one else even shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health.

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