''Cnicus benedictus'', known by the common names St. Benedict's thistle, blessed thistle, holy thistle and spotted thistle, is a

thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves ...

-like plant in the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

, native to the

Mediterranean region In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and wa ...

, from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

north to southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and east to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. It is known in other parts of the world, including parts of North America, as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

and often a noxious weed. It is the sole species in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

genus ''Cnicus''. Other species once included in the genus have largely been reclassified to ''

Cirsium ''Cirsium'' is a genus of perennial and biennial flowering plants in the Asteraceae, one of several genera known commonly as thistles. They are more precisely known as plume thistles. These differ from other thistle genera (''Carduus'', '' Sily ...

'', '' Carduus'', and ''

Centaurea ''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding reg ...

''. The related genus ''

Notobasis ''Notobasis'' is a genus in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and the Middle East, from Madeira, the Canary Islands, Morocco and Portugal east to Egypt, Iran and Azerbaijan. ; Species * '' ...

'' is included in ''Cnicus'' by some botanists; it differs in slender, much spinier leaves, and purple flowers.

Growth

It is an annual plant growing to 60 cm tall, with leathery, hairy leaves up to 30 cm long and 8 cm broad, with small spines on the margins. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are yellow, produced in a dense flowerhead (capitulum) 3–4 cm diameter, surrounded by numerous spiny basal bracts. Blessed thistle blooms mid summer to early fall. All parts of the plant have a light down covering. This plant has a sprawling habit instead of standing upright. It needs full sun to grow and good soil drainage, as it will die in waterlogged soil. Water blessed thistle daily if you want your plant to produce lush leaves. Seeds are too large to start in most seed trays, so it is recommended to sow outside after the danger of frost passes. Bury the seed 1/4 inch in the soil which should remain most until germination that takes between two to three weeks. Leave at least 12 to 15 inches of space between plants.

In literature

In Shakespeare’s comedy ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'', “Carduus Benedictus”, in tincture form, is recommended for a cold. The pointed allusion, by Margaret, is to Beatrice’s tormentor-lover, Benedict.

Edibility and medicinal use

These thistles are not considered

edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

, unlike ''

'', ''

Arctium ''Arctium'' is a genus of biennial plants commonly known as burdock, family Asteraceae. Native to Europe and Asia, several species have been widely introduced worldwide. Burdock's clinging properties, in addition to providing an excellent mecha ...

'' and ''

Onopordum ''Onopordum'', or cottonthistle, is a genus of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. They are native to southern Europe, northern Africa, the Canary Islands, the Caucasus, and southwest and central Asia. They grow on disturb ...

'' species; the leaves are considered unpalatable if not bitter. Blessed thistle is mostly used for medicinal purposes. Cnicin, the main component in this herb, is considered to have antibacterial properties, and to be anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory. This plant was used to treat the Black Plague during the Middle Ages. Now it is mostly used as a

galactagogue A galactagogue, or galactogogue (from el, γάλα �αλακτ- milk, + ἀγωγός, leading), also known as a lactation inducer or milk booster, is a substance that promotes lactation in humans and other animals. It may be synthetic, plant-d ...

with other herbs to increase breast milk supply. It is also used to aid the digestive system and detoxify the liver just like

milk thistle ''Silybum marianum'' is a species of thistle. It has various common names including milk thistle, blessed milkthistle, Marian thistle, Mary thistle, Saint Mary's thistle, Mediterranean milk thistle, variegated thistle and Scotch thistle (thou ...

. Blessed thistle can help neutralize bacteria such as E. Coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis. Cnicin blocks the enzymes necessary for bacteria replication so they are not able to reproduce and die.

References

Jepson Manual Treatment

External links

Spotted thistle
entry in the public domain NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms {{Taxonbar, from=Q792835 Cynareae Galactagogues Medicinal plants of Asia Medicinal plants of Europe Monotypic Asteraceae genera