''Cicerbita'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of flowering plants in the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

, native to Asia and Europe.Tropicos, ''Cicerbita'' Wallr.
/ref> They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.Genus ''Cicerbita'' Wallr.
Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). The word ''Cicerbita'' is from the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, meaning "chickory-like", a comparison to ''

Cichorium ''Cichorium'' is a genus of plants in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae. The genus includes two cultivated species commonly known as chicory or endive, plus several wild species.chicory Common chicory (''Cichorium intybus'') is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant of the family Asteraceae, usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Native to Europe, it has been introduced to the Americas and Australia. M ...

genus.Scartezzini, F., et al. (2012)
Domestication of alpine blue-sow-thistle (''Cicerbita alpina'' (L.) Wallr.): six year trial results.
''Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution'' 59(3) 465-71.

Description

''Cicerbita'' are usually

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

s, often with

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

s.''Cicerbita''.
Flora of China. Annual species are also known.Bano, R. and M. Qaiser. (2010)
The genus ''Cicerbita'' Wallr. (Cichoriae-Asteraceae) in Pakistan and Kashmir.
''Pakistan Journal of Botany'' 42, 35-56. The leaves are undivided or

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and ...

. The

flower head A pseudanthium (; : pseudanthia) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, composite flowers ...

has 5 to 30 florets in shades of blue or purple, or occasionally white or yellow. The

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple fruit, simple dry fruits, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and Dehi ...

is ribbed and has a pappus of bristles and hairs.

Systematics

The plants of this genus were included in genus ''

Lactuca ''Lactuca'', commonly known as lettuce, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. The genus includes at least 50 species, distributed worldwide, but mainly in temperate Eurasia. Its best-known representative is the garden lettuce ...

'', the

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae mostly grown as a leaf vegetable. The leaves are most often used raw in Green salad, green salads, although lettuce is also seen in other kinds of food, such as sandwiche ...

s, until 1822,Chu, S. (1991)
On circumscription of the genus ''Cicerbita'' Wall., and two new genera of Compositae from Sino-Himalayan Region.
''Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica'' 29(5) 394-417. when the first of them were separated based on the

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

of the fruits. The definition of the genus is still in debate and very unclear.

Species

The following species are recognised in the genus ''Cicerbita'': *''

Cicerbita acuminata ''Lactuca floridana'', commonly known as woodland lettuce, Florida lettuce, or false lettuce, is a North American species of wild lettuce. It is native across much of central Canada and the eastern and central United States. ''Lactuca florida ...

'' *'' Cicerbita adenophora'' *''

Cicerbita alii ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' *''

Cicerbita alpina ''Cicerbita alpina'', commonly known as the alpine sow-thistle or alpine blue-sow-thistle is a perennial herbaceous species of plant sometimes placed in the genus ''Cicerbita'' of the family Asteraceae, and sometimes placed in the genus ''Lactuca ...

'' *'' Cicerbita auriculiformis'' *'' Cicerbita azurea'' *''

Cicerbita benthamii ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' *''

Cicerbita boissieri ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' *''

Cicerbita bourgaei ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' *''

Cicerbita brassicifolia ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' *''

Cicerbita chiangdaoensis ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' – Thailand *''

Cicerbita crambifolia ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' *''

Cicerbita crassicaulis ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' *''

Cicerbita cyprica ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' *''

Cicerbita deltoidea ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' *''

Cicerbita × favratii ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' *''

Cicerbita garrettii ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' *'' Cicerbita kovalevskiana'' *'' Cicerbita ladyginii'' *''

Cicerbita macrophylla ''Cicerbita macrophylla'' (synonym ''Lactuca macrophylla''), commonly known as common blue-sow-thistle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that cons ...

'' *'' Cicerbita madatapensis'' *'' Cicerbita microcephala'' *''

Cicerbita mulgedioides ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' *''

Cicerbita neglecta ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' *'' Cicerbita nepalensis'' – Nepal *'' Cicerbita nuristanica'' – Afghanistan *'' Cicerbita olgae'' *'' Cicerbita pancicii'' *'' Cicerbita persica'' *'' Cicerbita picridiformis'' *'' Cicerbita plumieri'' *'' Cicerbita prenanthoides'' *''

Cicerbita putii ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' *'' Cicerbita racemosa'' *'' Cicerbita rechingeriana'' *''

Cicerbita roborowskii ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' *'' Cicerbita rosea'' *''

Cicerbita sonchifolia ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' *'' Cicerbita songarica'' *''

Cicerbita subplumosa ''Cicerbita'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe. They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.

'' *'' Cicerbita thianschanica'' –

Altay Republic The Altai Republic, also known as the Gorno-Altai Republic, is a republic of Russia located in southern Siberia. The republic borders Kemerovo Oblast to the north, Khakassia to the northeast, Tuva to the east, Altai Krai to the west, as well as t ...

, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Xinjiang *'' Cicerbita variabilis'' *'' Cicerbita zeravschanica'' – Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan *'' Cicerbita zhenduoi''

Uses

'' is eaten as a

vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...

in Italy, part of its native range. The young shoots are boiled and served in

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

tomato sauce Tomato sauce (; ; ) can refer to many different sauces made primarily from tomatoes. In some countries the term refers to a sauce to be served as part of a dish, in others it is a condiment. Tomatoes have a rich flavor, high water content, s ...

. They are considered a

delicacy A delicacy is a rare food item that is considered highly desirable, sophisticated, or peculiarly distinctive within a given culture or region. A delicacy may have an unusual flavor or be expensive compared to everyday foods. Delicacies va ...

and can be had in restaurants.Scartezzini, F., et al
Domestication and field management trials of ''Cicerbita alpina'' (L.) Wallr.
In: First International Conference on Crop Wild Relative Conservation and Use. September 14–17, 2005. Agrigento, Sicily, Italy. pg. 14-17. The shoots in oil can be purchased in markets under the local name ''insalata dell'orso'' ("bear salad"). The plant is collected from the wild and there is some concern that it may be threatened with

overexploitation Overexploitation, also called overharvesting or ecological overshoot, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to ...

, so local ordinances now limit wild collection in some areas. Field trials are underway to examine the possibility of cultivating the plant in agriculture.

References

Cichorieae Asteraceae genera Taxa named by Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Wallroth {{Cichorieae-stub