Thistle ordinary: description
Thistle is a weed plant, its inflorescences often cling to clothes during forest walks. Not everyone knows that prickly weed in decoctions and infusions can protect against pain, stomach cramps, colds and inflammation. With its help, wounds that do not heal for a long time are treated. Experts harvest the roots of the plant to use as a medicine.
Latin name Cirsium vulgare. The home of the weed is North Africa, Western Asia and much of Europe. The biennial plant reaches 1,5 m in height. In the first year of life, a leaf rosette is formed, in the second, the ribbed stem unfolds and grows to its maximum size.
Thistle can be found in gardens and wastelands
The weed is found in gardens, vegetable gardens and in the forest. In the fields it is much less common. The flowers of the plant have a delicate scent that attracts pollinators. You can recognize it by its characteristic features:
- elongated fruits reaching 5 mm;
- achenes covered with feathery light hairs and crowned with a tuft;
- inflorescences in the form of egg-shaped baskets, lonely located at the tips of the stems;
- large flowers of crimson or pink color;
- leaf blades, fluffy on the underside and covered with slightly pressed spines on top;
- leaves are pinnate-lobed, lanceolate, notched-pinnately-divided or alternate, 15-20 cm in length;
- spindle-shaped root.
Cirsium vulgare is easily recognizable due to its tall stature and thorns, which cause inconvenience to many. In our latitudes, the most common species is called the common thistle, one of the representatives of the family, which includes about 500 species. It can be found on roadsides, wastelands, ditches, forest edges, etc.
Why is common thistle useful?
The chemical composition of the plant is not well understood. Information about its medicinal properties is passed from one generation to the next. The weed is known to contain:
- essential oils;
- alkaloids;
- several types of resins;
- fats;
- tannins;
- glycosides.
The above gives the right to classify Cirsium vulgare as a medicinal herb. It is rarely used in traditional medicine.
The root is dug up on the eve of the onset of cold weather, washed and dried. It is part of many folk recipes. It is used for both external and internal use.
When using the plant as a medicine, it should be remembered that it is poisonous. Overdose can make you feel worse.
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