Asteraceae
Blessed thistle
Centaurea benedicta
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Genus
- Centaurea
Pet and kid safety: not checked yet. Check pet-safe plants

Is yours looking unwell? Scan your plant — free
Common names
By language (33)
- Albanian
- Cnuku
- Arabic
- قنطريون مبارك, الشوكة المباركة, الشوك المقدس, شوكة مباركة
- Armenian
- Լայնատերևուկ, Լայնատերևուկ օրհնված
- arz
- قنطريون مبارك
- Asturian
- Cardu moyar
- azb
- عادی لوپاتیکان
- Azerbaijani
- Adi güləvər
- Basque
- Txori-kardu
- Bulgarian
- Бенедиктински трън, Пресечка
- Catalan
- Card beneït, Cnicus
- Chinese
- 藏掖花, 鲱鱼籽, 圣蓟, 聖薊
- Czech
- Benedikt lékařský, Benedikt čubet, Cirsium pugnax, Hořký bodlák, Krasovlásek, Zaječí ouško, Čubet lékařský
- Danish
- Korbenedikt
- English
- Blessed thistle
- Finnish
- Karvaskaunokki
- French
- Chardon beni, Chardon Béni, Cnicus
- Galician
- Cardo santo
- German
- Benediktenkraut, Benediktendistel, Benediktenwurz, Bernhardinerwurzel, Bitterdistel, Cnicus, Kardobenedikte
- Hungarian
- Benedekfű
- Kazakh
- Арқал, Кникус
- Macedonian
- Питом трн
- Norwegian Bokmål
- Benediktinertistel
- Persian
- خار مقدس
- Polish
- Drapacz lekarski
- Portuguese
- Cnicus
- Romanian
- Schinel, Cnicus
- Russian
- Кникус, Cnicus, Кардобенедикт, Кникус благословенный
- Serbian
- Блажени чкаљ
- Spanish
- Cardo bendito, Cardo huso aspero, Cardo huso áspero, Cardo-huso aspero, Cardo-huso áspero, Tangarnina, Zorrina
- Swedish
- Cnicus
- Turkish
- Şevketibostan
- Ukrainian
- Кнік бенедиктинський
- war
- Cnicus
Synonyms
- Benedicta officinalis Bernh.
- Calcitrapa benedicta (L.) Sweet
- Calcitrapa lanuginosa Lam.
- Carbeni benedicta (L.) Arcang.
- Carbeni benedicta Adans.
- Carbeni benedicta (L.) Benth.
- Carbenia Adans.
- Cardosanctus officinalis Bubani
- Carduus benedictus Steud.
- Carduus benedictus Garsault
- Centaurea centriflora Friv. ex Gugler
- Centaurea pseudobenedicta E.H.L.Krause
- Cnicus benedictus L.
- Cnicus benedictus var. benedictus
- Cnicus benedictus var. kotschyi (Sch.Bip.) Boiss.
- Cnicus benedictus var. microcephalus Boiss.
- Cnicus bulgaricus Panov
- Cnicus kotschyi Sch.Bip.
- Cnicus microcephalus Boiss.
- Cnicus pseudobenedictus Hort.Dorpat. ex Asch.
- Epitrachys microcephala K.Koch
Flowers
- In flower
- April to June (from 54 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
Photos

FlowerPhoto: avocat, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: klicklo, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Millie Basden, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: paulexcoff, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Eleftherios Katsillis, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: zebedeugalinha, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Dinkum, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: zebedeugalinha, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: zebedeugalinha, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
More in Centaurea
- CornflowerCentaurea cyanusAsteraceae
- Brownray knapweedCentaurea jaceaAsteraceae
- Greater knapweedCentaurea scabiosaAsteraceae
- Yellow star-thistleCentaurea solstitialisAsteraceae
- Common knapweedCentaurea nigraAsteraceae
- Red star-thistleCentaurea calcitrapaAsteraceae
- Maltese star-thistleCentaurea melitensisAsteraceae
- Diffuse knapweedCentaurea diffusaAsteraceae
- Spotted knapweedCentaurea stoebeAsteraceae
- Iberian knapweedCentaurea ibericaAsteraceae
- Bighead knapweedCentaurea macrocephalaAsteraceae
- Wig knapweedCentaurea phrygiaAsteraceae
Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.