Taxon: Centaurea benedicta (L.) L.

Summary

Genus:

Centaurea

Family:

Asteraceae (alt. Compositae)

Subfamily:

Carduoideae

Tribe:

Cardueae

Subtribe:

Centaureinae

Nomen number:

455331

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. ed. 2, 2:1296. 1763

Verified:

03/01/2012 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

4 (3 active, 3 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Cnicus benedictus L.

Homotypic Synonym(s)
Carduus benedictus (L.) Thell., nom. inval.

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Baldwin, B. G. et al., eds. The Jepson manual: vascular plants of California (on-line resource).
Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs Note: as Cnicus benedictus
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Garcia-Jacas, N. et al. 2000. The natural delimitation of Centaurea (Asteraceae: Cardueae): ITS sequence analysis of the Centaurea jacea group. Pl. Syst. Evol. 223:190, 192.
Hickman, J. C., ed. 1993. The Jepson manual: higher plants of California Note: as Cnicus benedictus
Horn, G. et al. 2015. Cnicus benedictus as a potential low input oil crop. Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Tech. 117:561-566. DOI: 10.1002/ejlt.201400158. Note: as Cnicus benedictus, cultivated in Europe until mid 1960's, several potential uses for seed oil in industries
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
Leung, A. Y. & S. Foster. 1996. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics, ed. 2 Note: as Cnicus benedictus
McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland. Note: as Cnicus benedictus
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: = Cnicus benedictus
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	blessed thistle		1	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
French	chardon bénit	as Cnicus benedictus	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: = Cnicus benedictus
German	Benediktenkraut	as Cnicus benedictus	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: = Cnicus benedictus
German	Bitterdistel	as Cnicus benedictus	2	Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 2:1314. Note: as Cnicus benedictus
Portuguese	cardo-bento	as Cnicus benedictus	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: = Cnicus benedictus
Portuguese	cardo-santo	as Cnicus benedictus	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: = Cnicus benedictus
Swedish	kardbenedikt		2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Transcribed Chinese	cang ye hua		2	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Transliterated Russian	benedikt aptečnyj	as Cnicus benedictus	2	Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Transliterated Russian	knikus blagoslovennyj	as Cnicus benedictus	2	Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Algeria			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Libya			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Armenia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Azerbaijan			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Kazakhstan			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Kyrgyzstan			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Tajikistan			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Turkmenistan			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Uzbekistan			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Afghanistan			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Cyprus			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Egypt	Sinai		Boulos, L. 1999-. Flora of Egypt
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iran			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iraq			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Israel			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Jordan			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Lebanon			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Syria			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Turkey			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan		n.	Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Albania			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bosnia and Herzegovina			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bulgaria			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Greece		incl. Crete	Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy		incl. Sardinia	Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	North Macedonia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Serbia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Portugal			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia	Ciscaucasia		Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation-European part	European part	s.	Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Middle Europe	Belgium			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Middle Europe	Czech Republic			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Middle Europe	Germany			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Northern Europe	Ireland			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Northern Europe	United Kingdom			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Africa	Northern Africa	Morocco			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	New South Wales		Australia's Virtual Herbarium (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Queensland	s.e.	Australia's Virtual Herbarium (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Victoria		Australia's Virtual Herbarium (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine		incl. Krym	Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Croatia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	New Brunswick		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Nova Scotia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Ontario		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Illinois		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Wisconsin		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Connecticut		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New Jersey		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New York		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Oregon		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Washington		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	Texas		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Alabama		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Arkansas		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Georgia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Maryland		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	North Carolina		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	South Carolina		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Tennessee		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Virginia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	Arizona		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	California		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	Utah		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Uruguay			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Chimborazo		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75

Native
Africa

NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria, Libya

Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan, Cyprus, Egypt [Sinai], Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
CAUCASUS: Armenia, Azerbaijan
MIDDLE ASIA: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
CHINA: China [Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu]

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Pakistan (n.)

Europe

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece (incl. Crete), Italy (incl. Sardinia), North Macedonia, Serbia
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain, France, Portugal

Adventive
Asia-Temperate

CAUCASUS: Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia [Ciscaucasia]

Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: United Kingdom, Ireland
MIDDLE EUROPE: Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany
EASTERN EUROPE: Russian Federation-European part [European part (s.)]

Naturalized
Africa

NORTHERN AFRICA: Morocco
SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia [New South Wales, Queensland (s.e.), Victoria]

Europe

EASTERN EUROPE: Ukraine (incl. Krym)
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Croatia

Northern America

EASTERN CANADA: Canada [New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario]
NORTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Connecticut, New Jersey, New York]
NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Illinois, Wisconsin]
NORTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Oregon, Washington]
SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia]
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas]
SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Arizona, California, Utah]

Southern America

WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Ecuador [Chimborazo]
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay

Reference(s)

Australia's Virtual Herbarium (on-line resource).
Boulos, L. 1999-. Flora of Egypt
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Animal food	fodder	potential, as oil cake	Horn, G. et al. 2015. Cnicus benedictus as a potential low input oil crop. Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Tech. 117:561-566. DOI: 10.1002/ejlt.201400158. Note: as Cnicus benedictus, cultivated in Europe until mid 1960's, several potential uses for seed oil in industries
Materials	lipids	potential	Horn, G. et al. 2015. Cnicus benedictus as a potential low input oil crop. Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Tech. 117:561-566. DOI: 10.1002/ejlt.201400158. Note: as Cnicus benedictus, cultivated in Europe until mid 1960's, several potential uses for seed oil in industries
Medicines	folklore		Leung, A. Y. & S. Foster. 1996. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics, ed. 2 Note: as Cnicus benedictus
Medicines	folklore		McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland. Note: as Cnicus benedictus
Medicines	folklore		Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs Note: as Cnicus benedictus
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	Hickman, J. C., ed. 1993. The Jepson manual: higher plants of California Note: as Cnicus benedictus

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=455331. Accessed 14 April 2026.