FAMILY
N.O. Compositae

SPECIES
Centaurea Colcitrapa

DESCRIPTION
Purple starthistle is an erect, branched, annual or biennial plant. The stems and leaves are covered with cobwebby hairs often becoming smooth with maturity. The lower leaves are deeply divided and the upper leaves are narrow and undivided. The rosette leaves are deeply divided with a circle of spines in the center. The flower is lavender to deep purple with spine-tipped bracts subtending the flower head.

MEDICINAL USES
The seeds used to be made into powder and drunk in wine as a remedy for stone, and the powdered root was considered a cure for fistula and gravel.