Witnessed by: Western
Blessed thistle (Cnicus benedictus), of the Asteraceae family. Bristly annual with spiny leaves and yellow flower-heads cupped in spiny bracts; native range: dry stony ground of the Mediterranean and western Asia. Globally recognized as holy thistle, St Benedict's thistle, spotted thistle in English. The part used is flowering aerial parts. Extremely bitter throughout, faintly aromatic.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
BLESSED THISTLE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- blessed thistle
- Scientific name
- Cnicus benedictus L.
- Family
- Asteraceae
Form
- Part used
- flowering aerial parts
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- bitter (intense)
Temperature
- Western
- warm
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- stomach · liver · digestion
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- bitter tonic, cholagogue, galactagogue, diaphoretic, emmenagogue
Cautions
- Contraindications
- avoid in pregnancy on account of the emmenagogue action; Asteraceae sensitivity
- Toxicity
- large doses are emetic and irritate the stomach
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