- Region
- South America
- Origin
- Native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia, also in the Netherlands; naturalised on every continent, including the Andes
- Traditions
- Kallawaya healing knowledge
South America · Herb · № 899
Sonchus asper
Herb · South America
Prickly sow-thistle
Sonchus asper
An annual or biennial plant with spiny, blue-green leaves, yellow dandelion-like flowers and milky sap in the stem. The leaves are edible and nutritious.
Safety notes
Safe as a vegetable; do not pick it along busy roads or on sprayed fields. Traditional use is no proof of effect; consult a doctor or pharmacist if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, take medication or have a medical condition.
Cautions by tradition (1)
- Kallawaya healing in Bolivia: Do not pick along busy roads or on sprayed land.
Preparation
Young leaves raw in a salad or cooked as a vegetable.
Use in traditions
In Bolivia the plant is called khanapaco, 'morning light', because its flowers open in the morning. According to Bastien it was one of the few plants that all Kallawaya healers called 'cold'. They gave it for liver complaints and for anger, which in the Andes is linked to an excess of bile, and laid the crushed leaves on wounds. The leaves were also eaten as a salad.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Kallawaya healing in Bolivia
Attributed effects
As a 'cold' remedy for liver complaints and anger; the crushed leaves on wounds.
Preparation and amount
Young leaves raw in a salad.
Caution: Do not pick along busy roads or on sprayed land.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Powder and kitchen