CULPEPER'S COMPLETE HERBAL

GENTLE LANCED THISTLE

Description. This is also called English Soft Thistle. It grows upright, from whence it gains the denomination of a lance. The root is long and slender, but the stalk, though soft, is tough, and not divided into branches, and three feet high. The leaves are of a greyish green, regularly notched and sinuated at the edges. The stalk as well as the leaves is beset with many sharp prickles. The flower grows in a stately manner single upon the top of the branches, and is of a geautiful blueish purple.

Place. It grows but rarely in dry places; damp ground is the fittest place, and it is found in Leicestershire and Wiltshire.

Time. It flowers in July.