Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images [email protected] http://wellcomeimages.org Woodcut of edible field thistle from Yecai bolu (Compendium of edible wild plants), published in the Tianqi reign period of the Ming Dynasty. The illustration is accompanied by an explanatory text:

Ciji cai (edible field thistle), named in the herbal as xiaoji, is popularly known as qianzhen cao (thousand needle grass). It is ubiquitous. The shoots grow to be over a foot (chi) high. It has spines growing on the leaves and stalk. The flowers, which grow in the centre of the leaves, are mauve like safflower (honglanhua). The leaves are sweet in flavour, cool in nature and non-poisonous. The leaves and shoots are gathered and cooked. After steeping in hot water and rinsing, they are served with oil and salt to taste.

Yecai bolu includes 435 edible plants. Below the name of each species is an illustration of the plant, followed by information on its appearance, its properties and flavours, and methods of collection and consumption. Woodcut and text Library of Zhongguo zhongyi yanjiu yuan (China Academy for Traditional Chinese Medicine) Yecai bolu (Compendium of Edible Wild Plants) Pao Shan Published: 1622