Centaurea benedicta
species of Asteraceae in the genus Centaurea
Centaurea benedicta, known by the common names St. Benedict's thistle, blessed thistle, holy thistle, spotted thistle or blessed knapweed, is an annual thistle-like plant in the family Asteraceae, native to Mediterranean Europe and western and Central Asia, ranging from Portugal and Spain to southeastern Europe, Ukraine and southern European Russia, Saudi Arabia, Xinjiang, and Pakistan. It is known in other parts of the world, including parts of North America, as an introduced species and often a noxious weed.
Growth
Centaurea benedicta is an annual plant growing to 60 cm tall, with leathery, hairy leaves up to 30 cm long and 8 cm broad, with small spines on the margins. The flowers are yellow, produced in a dense flowerhead (capitulum) 3–4 cm diameter, surrounded by numerous spiny basal bracts. Blessed thistle blooms mid summer to early fall.
All parts of the plant have a light down covering. This plant has a sprawling habit instead of standing upright. It needs full sun to grow and good soil drainage, as it will die in waterlogged soil. Blessed thistle benefits from daily watering, producing lush leaves.
The public source identifies “Centaurea benedicta” as species of Asteraceae in the genus Centaurea. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Centaurea, benedicta and species.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Centaurea benedicta”, the useful work is to connect “species of Asteraceae in the genus Centaurea” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q792835. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Centaurea benedicta” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.