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Sharon
Wondering if Bull Thistle is equivalent to either Milk Thistle or Blessed Thistle. Is there much difference in the properties of the 3 types? We don’t have the last two growing here, but we have Bull Thistle everywhere, and it’s just SO fun to work with – ouch!!
Also, I intended to plant CatNip, but was provided the wrong plant and now I have Cat Mint instead. Are they pretty much interchangeable? I’m betting they are quite different.
And staying in the “mint family” – I grow Orange Mint, Chocolate Mint as well as the Cat Mint, but no Peppermint or Spearmint. Is there enough difference in these mints to warrant getting extra plants? I have very little space to grow, but I could pull up one or more of the above if needed to plant something else. Advice on all these plants?
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ann peschges
Sharon, such interesting questions! We are also overrun with the same thistles:) It would be great to know if they have any benefit to humans. We also have a TON of leafy spurge…If there is a use for that, we could supply the world:) lol. I haven’t heard of orange mint…I am going to have to check that out.
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Dr. Patrick Jones
Bull Thistle, milk thistle and blessed thistle are all in different genera. If one is looking at plants in the same genus, you’ll often find they have similar medicinal properties. For example peppermint and spearmint are Mentha piperita and Mentha spicata. Being members of the same genus (Mentha) they share many medicinal properties. If you go to other plants in the mint family (Lamiaceae) like sage (Salvia officinalis) you find some very different properties.
So, to answer your question; Cirsium vulgaris (Bull thistle) , Silybum marianum (Milk Thistle) and Cnicus benedictus (Blessed Thistle) have different medicinal properties. They’re very different critters.
Interestingly, bull thistle gets zero press among herbalists but has recently been found to have some good anti-inflammatory properties. Have a look at this article:
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
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Thanks Doc. Bummer about the Bull Thistle being as good as the others, but at least it’s got “some” good properties. Mind if I re-address the other questions?
I intended to plant CatNip, but was provided the wrong plant and now I have Cat Mint instead. Are they pretty much interchangeable? I cannot seem to find much information on Cat Mint (most websites use the terms interchangeably like they are the same plant). If you had to choose between them, which of the two would you grow and why?
And for the other mints – I grow Orange Mint, Chocolate Mint as well as the Cat Mint, but have no Peppermint or Spearmint. Is there enough difference in properties/actions between the ones I have and peppermint or spearmint (do people use spearmint much or just peppermint)? I can’t seem to find any good medicinal info on the orange, chocolate, and cat mints. Thanks again!
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Darlene Norris
Wow, the article about bull thistle was amazing! My husband has suffered from ankylosing spondylytis for many years. It does run in his family, but I think it was triggered in his case when he had a ruptured appendix that nearly killed him. Definitely some leaky gut happened there! We have thistles growing all over the place here. I need to identify exactly what they are, and make him some tincture! Thank you so much for this information!
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It is a good article on the bull thistle isn’t it!? I didn’t mean to make it sound like it wasn’t a good plant – I was just hoping for some of the properties of the other two thistles, but hey, they grow free, so what’s not to like about that, right!?
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Thanks Doc. Bummer about the Bull Thistle being as good as the others, but at least it’s got “some” good properties. Mind if I re-address the other questions?
I intended to plant CatNip, but was provided the wrong plant and now I have Cat Mint instead. Are they pretty much interchangeable? I cannot seem to find much information on Cat Mint (most websites use the terms interchangeably like they are the same plant). If you had to choose between them, which of the two would you grow and why?
And for the other mints – I grow Orange Mint, Chocolate Mint as well as the Cat Mint, but have no Peppermint or Spearmint. Is there enough difference in properties/actions between the ones I have and peppermint or spearmint (do people use spearmint much or just peppermint)? I can’t seem to find any good medicinal info on the orange, chocolate, and cat mints. Thanks again!
Common names aren’t nearly as useful as Latin names. Nepeta cataria is usually called catnip but is also often called catmint or cat mint. Do you have the Latin name of what you got? If it’s Nepeta cataria, you’re good to go. Some of the “catmints” are Nepeta hybrids. Usually Nepeta X faassneii). I don’t know if that one is medicinally the same as Nepeta cataria.
As to your other mints (chocolate etc…) they’ll probably be similar to peppermint if they are in the genus Mentha.
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
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