# Cicerbita

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"Agathyrsus" redirects here. For the ancestor of Scythian peoples, see [Agathyrsi](/source/Agathyrsi).

***Cicerbita*** is a [genus](/source/Genus) of flowering plants in the family [Asteraceae](/source/Asteraceae), native to Asia and Europe.[1][2] They are known commonly as **blue sow thistles**.[3] The word *Cicerbita* is from the [Italian](/source/Italian_language), meaning "chickory-like", a comparison to *[Cichorium](/source/Cichorium)*, the [chicory](/source/Chicory) genus.[4]

## Description

*Cicerbita* are usually [perennial plants](/source/Perennial_plant), often with [rhizomes](/source/Rhizome).[5] Annual species are also known.[6] The leaves are undivided or [pinnate](/source/Pinnate). The [flower head](/source/Pseudanthium) has 5 to 30 florets in shades of blue or purple, or occasionally white[5] or yellow.[6] The [achene](/source/Achene) is ribbed and has a [pappus](/source/Pappus_(flower_structure)) of bristles and hairs.[5]

## Systematics

The plants of this genus were included in genus *[Lactuca](/source/Lactuca)*, the [lettuces](/source/Lettuce), until 1822,[7] when the first of them were separated based on the [morphology](/source/Morphology_(biology)) of the fruits.[6] The definition of the genus is still in debate and very unclear.

## Species

The following species are recognised in the genus *Cicerbita*:[8]

- *Cicerbita acuminata* Grossh.
- *[Cicerbita adenophora](/source/Cicerbita_adenophora)* (Boiss. & Kotschy) Beauverd
- *[Cicerbita alii](/source/Cicerbita_alii)* Roohi Bano & Qaiser
- *[Cicerbita alpina](/source/Cicerbita_alpina)* (L.) Wallr.
- *[Cicerbita auriculiformis](/source/Cicerbita_auriculiformis)* (C.Shih) N.Kilian
- *[Cicerbita azurea](/source/Cicerbita_azurea)* (Ledeb.) Beauverd
- *[Cicerbita benthamii](/source/Cicerbita_benthamii)* (C.B.Clarke) Roohi Bano & Qaiser
- *[Cicerbita boissieri](/source/Cicerbita_boissieri)* (Rouy) C.Jeffrey
- *[Cicerbita bourgaei](/source/Cicerbita_bourgaei)* (Boiss.) Beauverd
- *[Cicerbita brassicifolia](/source/Cicerbita_brassicifolia)* (Boiss.) Beauverd
- *[Cicerbita chiangdaoensis](/source/Cicerbita_chiangdaoensis)* H.Koyama – Thailand
- *[Cicerbita crambifolia](/source/Cicerbita_crambifolia)* (Bunge) Beauverd
- *[Cicerbita crassicaulis](/source/Cicerbita_crassicaulis)* (Trautv.) Beauverd
- *[Cicerbita cyprica](/source/Cicerbita_cyprica)* (Rech.f.) M.Güzel, Coșkunç. & N.Kilian
- *[Cicerbita deltoidea](/source/Cicerbita_deltoidea)* (M.Bieb.) Beauverd
- *[Cicerbita × favratii](/source/Cicerbita_%C3%97_favratii)* Wilczek
- *[Cicerbita garrettii](/source/Cicerbita_garrettii)* (Kerr) H.Koyama
- *[Cicerbita kovalevskiana](/source/Cicerbita_kovalevskiana)* Kirp.
- *[Cicerbita ladyginii](/source/Cicerbita_ladyginii)* (Tzvelev) N.Kilian
- *[Cicerbita macrophylla](/source/Cicerbita_macrophylla)* (Willd.) Wallr.
- *[Cicerbita madatapensis](/source/Cicerbita_madatapensis)* Gagnidze
- *[Cicerbita microcephala](/source/Cicerbita_microcephala)* (DC.) M.Güzel, Coșkunç. & N.Kilian
- *[Cicerbita mulgedioides](/source/Cicerbita_mulgedioides)* Beauverd
- *[Cicerbita neglecta](/source/Cicerbita_neglecta)* (Tzvelev) N.Kilian
- *[Cicerbita nepalensis](/source/Cicerbita_nepalensis)* Kitam. – Nepal
- *[Cicerbita nuristanica](/source/Cicerbita_nuristanica)* Kitam. – Afghanistan
- *[Cicerbita olgae](/source/Cicerbita_olgae)* Leskov
- *[Cicerbita pancicii](/source/Cicerbita_pancicii)* Beauverd
- *[Cicerbita persica](/source/Cicerbita_persica)* Beauverd
- *[Cicerbita picridiformis](/source/Cicerbita_picridiformis)* (Boiss.) Roohi Bano & Qaiser
- *[Cicerbita plumieri](/source/Cicerbita_plumieri)* (L.) Kirschl.
- *[Cicerbita prenanthoides](/source/Cicerbita_prenanthoides)* (M.Bieb.) Beauverd
- *[Cicerbita putii](/source/Cicerbita_putii)* (Kerr) H.Koyama
- *[Cicerbita racemosa](/source/Cicerbita_racemosa)* (Willd.) Beauverd
- *[Cicerbita rechingeriana](/source/Cicerbita_rechingeriana)* (Tuisl) Coșkunç., M.Güzel & N.Kilian
- *[Cicerbita roborowskii](/source/Cicerbita_roborowskii)* (Maxim.) Beauverd
- *[Cicerbita rosea](/source/Cicerbita_rosea)* (Popov & Vved.) Krasch. ex Kovalevsk.
- *[Cicerbita sonchifolia](/source/Cicerbita_sonchifolia)* (Vis. & Pančić) Beauverd
- *[Cicerbita songarica](/source/Cicerbita_songarica)* (Regel) Krasch.
- *[Cicerbita subplumosa](/source/Cicerbita_subplumosa)* (Kovalevsk.) M.Güzel, Coșkunç. & N.Kilian
- *[Cicerbita thianschanica](/source/Cicerbita_thianschanica)* Beauverd – [Altay Republic](/source/Altay_Republic), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Xinjiang
- *[Cicerbita variabilis](/source/Cicerbita_variabilis)* (Bornm.) Bornm.
- *[Cicerbita zeravschanica](/source/Cicerbita_zeravschanica)* Popov – Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
- *[Cicerbita zhenduoi](/source/Cicerbita_zhenduoi)* (S.W.Liu & T.N.Ho) N.Kilian

## Uses

*[Cicerbita alpina](/source/Cicerbita_alpina)* is eaten as a [vegetable](/source/Vegetable) in Italy, part of its native range. The young shoots are boiled and served in [olive oil](/source/Olive_oil) or [tomato sauce](/source/Tomato_sauce). They are considered a [delicacy](/source/Delicacy) and can be had in restaurants.[9] The shoots in oil can be purchased in markets under the local name *insalata dell'orso* ("bear salad").[4] The plant is collected from the wild and there is some concern that it may be threatened with [overexploitation](/source/Overexploitation), so local ordinances now limit wild collection in some areas. [Field trials](/source/Field_experiment) are underway to examine the possibility of cultivating the plant in agriculture.[9]

## References

1. Wallroth, Carl Friedrich Wilhelm. 1823. Schedulae Criticae de Plantis Florae Halensis Selectis. Corollarium novum ad C. Sprengelii Floram halensem. Accedunt generum quorundam specierumque omnium definitiones novae, excursus in stirpes difficiliores. Tom. I. Phanerogamia 1: 433

1. [Tropicos, *Cicerbita* Wallr.](http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40008939)

1. [Genus *Cicerbita* Wallr.](http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?2601) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120921144254/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?2601) 2012-09-21 at the Wayback Machine Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

1. Scartezzini, F., et al. (2012). [Domestication of alpine blue-sow-thistle (*Cicerbita alpina* (L.) Wallr.): six year trial results.](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10722-011-9762-x#page-1) *Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution* 59(3) 465-71.

1. [*Cicerbita*.](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=107067) Flora of China.

1. Bano, R. and M. Qaiser. (2010). [The genus *Cicerbita* Wallr. (Cichoriae-Asteraceae) in Pakistan and Kashmir.](http://www.pakbs.org/pjbot/PDFs/42%28SI%29/PJB42%28SI%29035.pdf) *Pakistan Journal of Botany* 42, 35-56.

1. Chu, S. (1991). [On circumscription of the genus *Cicerbita* Wall., and two new genera of Compositae from Sino-Himalayan Region.](http://www.jse.ac.cn/Abstract_old.aspx?id=1354) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20141126100757/http://www.jse.ac.cn/Abstract_old.aspx?id=1354) 2014-11-26 at the Wayback Machine *Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica* 29(5) 394-417.

1. ["*Cicerbita* Wallr. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science"](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:327340-2). *Plants of the World Online*. Retrieved 21 May 2024.

1. Scartezzini, F., et al. [Domestication and field management trials of *Cicerbita alpina* (L.) Wallr.](http://www.pgrforum.org/Documents/Conference_posters/Scartezinni_et_al.pdf) In: First International Conference on Crop Wild Relative Conservation and Use. September 14–17, 2005. Agrigento, Sicily, Italy. pg. 14-17.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cicerbita](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicerbita) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicerbita?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.