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CARDUUS BENEDICTUS CNICUS BENEDICTUS (= CARBENIA BENEDICTA) Everyone who can write at all may describe them from his own knowledge. Better known today as Blessed Thistle or Holy Thistle, it is an annual plant growing to a little over a foot (30 cm) with greyish-green leaves, brittle and spiny. The yellow flowerheads are about an inch (25 mm) long. Where to find it: It grows in coastal regions, but is also cultivated for pharmaceutical purposes.Flowering time: From early to late summer. Astrology: A herb of Mars under the sign of Aries. Medicinal virtues: It helps giddiness. and swimming of the head, or the disease called vertigo. It is an excellent remedy against the yellow jaundice and other infirmities of the gall. It clarifies the blood. Continually drinking the decoction helps red faces, tetters and ring- wornis. It helps the plague, sores, boils and itch, the bitings of mad dogs and venomous beasts. It cureth the French pox, strengthens the memory and cures deafness. It cures melancholy and provokes urine. Modern uses: Holy Thistle is still an important medicinal herb. It is mainly used as a tonic, but it also produces sweating and is therefore of use in treating fevers. It stimulates menstruation and is helpful for headaches and migraine. Small doses only are given as the herb is emetic. Overdosing can also cause diarrhoea. An infusion is made from the whole herb - 1 OZ (28 g) to I Pt (568 ml) of boiling water - and administered in doses of 2 fl Oz (56 ml). Where there is inflammation, the remedy is used in combination with Elderflowers, and Peppermint with a small amount of Ginger or Capsicum. The cold infusion is best for dyspepsia or anorexia, while the warm infusion is best for colds, fevers and backache. Homeopaths use a tincture to treat arthritis. |
