Carline thistle.
Carlina.
I HAVE observed that many plants are not so much regarded for their virtues as they ought to be; there are on the contrary some which are celebrated more than they deserve: the carline thistle is of this last number. It is not wholly without virtues, but it has not all that are ascribed to it.
This is a plant without any stalk. The leaves are long, narrow, of a dark green colour, divided and prickly at the edges; and they lie spread upon the ground in manner of a star. The flower appears in the midst of these without a stalk, rising immediately from the root, with several small leaves round about it. It is the head of a thistle, and the flowery part is white on the edge, and yellow in the middle. The root is long and of a brown colour on the outside, and reddish within; it is of a warm aromatic taste.
This is the only part of the plant used in medicine. They say it is a remedy for the plague: but however that may be, it is good in nervous complaints, and in stoppages of the menses.
