Blessed Thistle

Cnicus benedictus
Family: Asteraceae
Annual. Native to the Mediterranean basin and Asia Minor. The most forgiving of
the thistles, bushy, growing to only 2 feet, covered with down, barely pricly at the
leaf tips. !ontains the bitter volatile oil cnicin "which is a ses#uiterpene lactone$.
The entire plant is harvested in early flower and shade dried. After the first cutting
the plant will re%generate, and a second cutting is usually possible. &ven the stems are
good medicine. The tea stimulates appetite and aids digestion, diminishes the pain of
migraine, stimulates bile production "cholagogue$, and is a general anti%
inflammatory. Along with Angelica, it was once relied upon to avert and cure the
plague. Cultivation: &asy. 'irect seed anytime from fall to late spring. Thin
seedlings to ( foot apart. )rows about ( foot tall.
*eturn to +erb ,eed -nde.