Łódź, Botanical Garden

It is thought to have originated in Ethiopia. Edible plant - Flower buds - raw or cooked, used before the flowers open; flowering stems peeled and eaten raw or cooked with a sweet nutty flavour; young leaf stems as a celery substitute, they are normally blanched to remove the bitterness and then boiled or eaten raw. Herbal plant - leaves contain cynarin, bitter-tasting compound, which improves liver and gall bladder function, stimulates the secretion of digestive juices, especially bile, and lowers blood cholesterol levels; they are used internally in the treatment of chronic liver and gall bladder diseases, jaundice, hepatitis, arteriosclerosis and the early stages of late-onset diabetes. Usable plant - the dried flowers are a rennet substitute, used for curdling plant milk; a dark grey dye is obtained from the leaves.