Other common names.—Holy thistle, bitter thistle, Our Lady’s thistle, St. Benedict’s thistle, cursed thistle, spotted thistle. (Fig. 23.)
Fig. 23.—Blessed thistle (Cnicus benedictus L.).
Range and habitat.—This weed has been introduced from Europe and occurs in stony, uncultivated localities and waste places in the Southern States and in California and Utah.
Description.—Blessed thistle is an annual plant belonging to the aster family (Asteraceæ). The round stems are erect, about 1 to 2 feet high, branched, and rather woolly. The leaves are more or less hairy, the lower ones borne on petioles (leaf stems), the upper ones sessile (stemless) and clasping the stem. They are oblong-lanceolate and wavy-lobed. The terminal yellow flower heads are surrounded by scales of a leathery texture, which are prolonged into long, hard, branching spines.
Parts used.—The leaves and tops should be collected when the plant is in flower, about June, thoroughly and quickly dried, and kept in a vessel from which moisture, light, and air should be excluded. They have a somewhat disagreeable odor and the taste is very bitter.
Blessed thistle is employed in fevers, dyspepsia, and as a tonic to restore the appetite.
Imports and prices.—This plant is cultivated in Germany, from which country it is imported to a limited extent. The price per pound ranges from 8 to 10 cents.