Onopordon acanthium.
Botanical name:
Onopordon acanthium Linn. Compositae. Cotton Thistle.
Europe, north Africa, the Orient and naturalized in eastern North America. The receptacles of the flowers, says Lightfoot, and the tender stalks, peeled and boiled, may be eaten in the same manner as artichokes and cardoons. Johnson says an oil expressed from the seeds has been used for culinary purposes.
Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.
