Spotting

Description:

Thistle species but which one? I've heard that a lot of thistles are edible but I'm not sure this one is on the list...Generally what you do is strip the spikey leaves off with a knife leaving you the stem. Then you peel or cut off the outer layer of the top section of the stem (the outer layer is very fibrous). The inner part of the stem can be eaten straight off (apparently it's tasty) or put in a stir-fry or perhaps a salad (?) or whatever you want. It's possible to eat the leaves once you've cut the spines off but it's not considered worth the effort. The root is edible but I don't know how to prepare this