Cnicus
Blessed thistle (Centaurea benedicta )
The blessed thistle (Centaurea benedicta (L.) L.), also Kardobenedikte, blessed thistle, Benediktenkarde, Benedict Wurz, bitter thistle, St. Bernard root, Born root, thistle herb, spiders thistle or snake ( s) named herb, a plant is of the genus Centaurea (Centaurea ) in the subfamily of Carduoideae within the sunflower family ( Asteraceae). It is a medicinal plant.
Description
The blessed thistle grows as a thistle -like, annual, herbaceous plant, reaching heights of growth of up to 60 centimeters. The leaves are up to 30 cm long and 8 cm wide with small spines on the leaf margin.
The basket- shaped inflorescence has a diameter of 3 to 4 cm and contains a lot of yellow tubular flowers that are surrounded by many of spiny bracts.
In Central Europe it blooms in June.
Occurrence
The blessed thistle is native to the Mediterranean region and Asia Minor, from Portugal in the north to France and Italy in the south and from the Balkans to Turkey in the East and in North Africa. In Central, Eastern Europe and the British Isles by Benedict herb was cultivated as a medicinal plant and feral. In many other parts of the world it is a neophyte.
Use
Typical is the bitter taste of the plant parts. Are used medicinally, the leaves and the flowering ends of the stems.
The most important ingredient group represent the bitter with the main components Artemissiifolin, Cnicin and Salonitenolid. The drug ( Cnici benedicti herba, herba benedicti cardui ) contains about 0.2 % Cnicin. Other ingredients are essential oils with terpenes ( citral, cymene, fenchone ), flavonoids and triterpenes.
Toxicology
The blessed thistle has a certain allergy potential. It affects primarily people with allergies to composite flowers. Allergic reactions to the drug Cnicin could be observed here in mice and rats. The dose Cnicin as part of a herbal medicine is usually below the dose acute toxicity. However, products with a high dose of Cnicin as a pure substance can cause irritation to the throat, pharynx and esophagus area, ranging with disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, to nausea, cramps and diarrhea with fever.
Taxonomy
The first publication was in 1753 under the name ( basionym ) Cnicus benedictus by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum, 2, p 826 New combination for today valid name Centaurea benedicta (L.) L. was in 1763 by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum, 2nd edition, published in 1296 p. Another synonym of Centaurea benedicta (L.) L. is Carbenia benedicta (L.) Arcang.
More Pics
Stem
Bracts
Inflorescence
Swell
- Werner Greuter: Centaurea benedicta at Euro Med Plant Base - Database of Vascular Plants of Europe and the Mediterranean