Wild Chicory

Wild Chicory lacheta, barbe de capucine, cheveux de paysanne the root of this herb is famous for its use as ersatz coffee. The whole plant is excessively bitter.

Milk thistle and sow thistle are two species eaten with gusto (and sometimes cultivated). The sow thistle (Sonchus oleraceus) is laitisson in Occitan and laiteron in French. It is found from September to April. The young shoots are tender and taste delicious, you might almost think you were eating spinach. Some people also eat the handsome milk thistle (Silybum marianum) or chardon marie, whose tender stems are supposed to taste deliciously of artichoke, and whose roots can also be eaten like salsify. Another prized edible thistle is the Carlina acanthifolia with a flower which looks like the sun, which appears as a motif on hand-blocked Provençal fabrics.