Practical
Plants

Picris echioides

Bristly Ox-Tongue

an annual or biennial member of the Picris genus in the family Compositae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Genus
Picris
Life cycle
annual, biennial
Height
0.9 m
Spread
0.4 m
Fertility
Self fertile, Bees, Flies, Apomictic
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Bees, Flies, Apomictic

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Young leaves - raw or cooked[4][6][1][3]. Not wonderful raw, the leaves are slightly better cooked[3]. A rather bitter flavour[K].

Plant part
Leaves

Environment

Range
S. Europe. Possibly native but certainly established in Britain.
Habitat
Roadsides, hedgebanks, field margins and waste places, usually on stiff and calcareous soils[2].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 6+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay, heavy clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline, very alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow spring in situ, only just covering the seed. Germination should take place quite quickly.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Succeeds in most soils[5]. Dislikes shade. Wild plants are an indicator of calcareous soils[5]. Seed is often produced apomictically[2]. Any seedlings from this seed will be genetically identical to the parent plant.

References

  1. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

    ↩

  2. Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  3. Crowe. A. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-340-508302

    ↩1↩2

  4. Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20459-6

    ↩

  5. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2

  6. Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984-00-00 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9

    ↩

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