The Star Thistle.
Botanical name:
Calcitrapa.
A wild plant on our heaths, but not very common. It is two feet high, and extremely branched; the stalks are round, hard, and whitish. The principal leaves rise from the root, and are disposed in a circular manner on the ground. They are oblong, and divided along the sides quite to the middle rib: there are some smaller on the stalk, but few. The flowers are numerous: they are red, and of the form of the flowers of thistles. They grow out of a scaly and thorny head. The seeds are winged with down. The root is oblong.
The root is used; a strong infusion of it is excellent against the gravel, and is good also in the jaundice. It opens obstructions, and works by urine.
