Blessed thistle

The thistle blessed , or cnicaut blessed , is a annual Plante with thorny sheets, of the family of the Astéracées, enough commune in ground dry in the area the Mediterranean.

Scientific name: Cnicus benedictus L., family of the Astéracées (Made up).

Common noun: blessed thistle, thistle bless, marbled thistle, wild saffron. of: Benediktenkraut, in: blessed thistle, it: cardo benedetto .

Description

It is an annual plant, being able to reach from 10 to 60 cm in height. The floriferous stem is drawn up, ramified, the quite isolated branches from/to each other and being covered with woolly hairs. The principal root is spindly.

The sheets, pale green and enough coriaces, are deeply divided. They are bordered of thorny teeth. They are especially remarkable by the network of Nervure S white, projecting on the lower face.

The yellow flowerheads of flowers are surrounded by a developed involucre, of which the Bractée S external, green, larger than the others, resemble the sheets. The bractées interior ones carry a long prickly point. Only the central flowers are hermaphrodites, those of the external circumference carry only cheesecloths.

The fruits, with about cylindrical Akène S, are covered long hairs with maturity.

Distribution

This species is originating mainly in the edges of the Mediterranean: Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Afghanistan, Balkans, Italy, Portugal, Spain.

In France, one especially finds it in Provence and in the Languedoc-Roussillon.

It was naturalized in many countries, including in America. With the the United States, she is regarded as plants invading.

Use

It is a crop plant like plants decorative (rock plant).

It was used like plants medicinal in popular medicine, for its proriétés digestive and stomachic. The root would have properties febrifuge.

It is also a Mauvaise grass field crops.

See too

Thistle

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