Thistles, which belong to the Asteraceae family, produce numerous fruits from their flowers that are used for human consumption. They also provide valuable food for animals.
What are thistle fruits and what are their uses?
Thistles produce small nuts, also called achenes, which serve as nutritious bird food. Vitamin-rich safflower oil is obtained from the seeds of the safflower. Artichokes are the young flower buds of the plant, but are not fruits in the true sense.
What fruits does thistle produce?
Thistles formsmall nut fruitsfrom the dead inflorescences, which are calledachenes. These sit under a large, mostly unfeathered wreath of hair (pappus). Because the thistle seeds are spread by the wind, thistles can spread over large areas.
Since the undemanding plants gain a foothold in almost any soil, the spreading plants can become a problem in yield cultivation.
Are thistle fruits good bird food?
Thistle seeds make avery nutritious bird food,which is also a populartreat among animals. Integrated into a natural garden, songbirds such as the bullfinch or the goldfinch can be observed as they prefer to snack on the fruits of thistles.
The seeds from: are particularly popular
- goose thistle,
- Globe thistle (Echinops),
- Thistle,
- Donkey thistle.
You can simply leave the seed heads on the plants or cut them off, dry them and feed them in the winter months.
How is safflower oil obtained?
Anextremely he althy oilis made from theseeds of the safflower. It is very rich in vitamins and is one of the vegetable oils with the highest proportion of unsaturated fatty acids. To preserve the ingredients, you should not heat this oil.
Are artichokes also a thistle fruit?
Despiteartichokessometimes referred to asthistle fruit, it is not a fruit in the true sense, but theyoung flower buds of the plant.
Tip
Buy thistle fruits for birds
Because thistle seeds are so popular with birds and provide the animals with valuable energy in the cold season, they are added to many feed mixtures. Alternatively, you can buy larger quantities of pure thistle fruits in the relevant specialist shops and feed them directly.
