Scolymus hispanicus

Scolymus hispanicus, the common golden thistle or Spanish oyster thistle, is a flowering plant in the genus Scolymus in the family Asteraceae, native to southern and western Europe, north to northwestern France.

Scolymus hispanicus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Cichorieae
Genus: Scolymus
Species:
S. hispanicus
Binomial name
Scolymus hispanicus

It is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant growing to 80 cm tall, with spiny stems and leaves. The flowerheads are bright yellow to orange-yellow, 2–3 cm diameter

Uses

Since at least the time of Theophrastus in ancient Greece, this plant has been known for medicinal and culinary uses. Although it has been cultivated at times, currently most of the plant which is consumed comes from harvesting wild plants.[1] It is very popular in almost every province of Spain, where it is usually eaten in stews during spring. It is also used in salads and soups, and it is served with scrambled eggs in Extremadura and Andalusia, Spain, where it is called tagarnina. In the sixteenth century in Salamanca, the washed young plants used to be eaten with their root, either raw or in stews with meat.

In parts of southern Italy, the leaves are only gathered during Holy Week, after which they are used to bake a meat pie to be eaten on Easter.[2]

Renamed taxa
  • Spanish oyster flower
  • Scrambled eggs with Spanish oyster and bread
  • Spanish oyster harvested for cooking

References
  1. "Spanish salsify (Scolymus hispanicus)".
  2. Pieroni, Andrea (2005). Prance, Ghillean; Nesbitt, Mark (eds.). The Cultural History of Plants. Routledge. p. 39. ISBN 0415927463.
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