St. Benedict\'s Thistle Seeds (Cnicus Benedictus) By Sementi Dotto

Make your own Benedictine liqueur

Blessed thistle is native to North Africa, southern Europe, and western Asia. It grows most often in stony, uncultivated places. It is an annual, growing about 0.7 m in height, with pale yellow, prickly flowers. The whole plant is covered with down. The plant was widely cultivated in the Middle Ages in Europe. Its medicinal use was mentioned by Shakespeare in his play Much Ado About Nothing and was prominent in many of the herbals of the period. It was thought to be useful in treating plague; however, its main uses were for digestive complaints, gout, fever, and headache. Blessed thistle also was recommended as an emmenagogue, galactogogue, and abortifacient. The dried leaves, stems, and flowers are used medicinally. It is used in flavouring Benedictine liqueur and has GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status for alcoholic beverage use only. 

OFFICINAL PROPERTIES

Blessed thistle is used to stimulate secretion of gastric juices and saliva, to increase appetite and facilitate digestion, and to stimulate the flow of bile. It has been used as a minor component of the alternative cancer remedy Flor-Essence and has antibacterial and antifungal activity. Other pharmacologic activities for blessed thistle include blockade of gonadotropin and anti-inflammatory properties. However, there are no reported human clinical trials for any of these uses. They are also capable of stimulating the flow of bile.

Cultivation and Growing Information

Really needs full sun. It is very tolerant of most soil types but needs good drainage will die in waterlogged soil. Water in well and daily until the plants are established then they are quite drought tolerant but will not produce an abundant crop of leaves or flowers with little water. Dip irrigation or a soaker hose is the best method to water once a day. The plants tend to sprawl with flowers and leaves creeping along the ground so allow plenty of room. Flowers until the first hard frost. Best sown in early spring. The seeds are large and easy to handle. Since seeds are large they can be directly sown after all danger of frost has passed. Allow two feet between plants. 
If starting indoors begin in late winter with one seed per pot. Germination usually takes about 14-21 days depending temperature. Grow on until plants are large enough to be hardened off then planted outside.

Seeding: April-May

Blooming: Janury-February and September-December

Guaranteed quality:  Sementi Dotto seeds

Sementi Dotto was founded in 1963 as a family-run farm specialized in the field of vegetable seeds and gardening products. SEMENTI DOTTO is present in the hobby sector with a wide range of products for gardening care and with a complete line of products for small pets. In addition, since Sementi Dotto is always heedful to changing market conditions and environmental sensitivity, with “L’Orto Biologico” line it also offers a wide range of vegetable seeds and seeds for sprouts obtained exclusively from organic farming which include the use of agricultural adjuvants not harmful to the environment.

The primary objective of the company is to achieve total quality, entering the market with high-grade products, advanced packaging, cutting-edge logistics services, promotional activities, careful and qualified customer service, efficient internal processes, maintaining the balance of a large organization without sacrificing the traditional quality values for which it is famous.

Net weight sachet: 2gr