Carduus crispus

Carduus crispus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 821. 1753.

(Carduus crispus Linn.; Photo species.wikimedia.org and Gansucha)

Latin Name: 

Carduus crispus Linn.

Family & Genus: 

Asteraceae, Carduus

Synonym Name: 

Carduus crispus subsp. agrestis Vollm.; Carduus crispus var. albus Makino; Carduus crispus var. fissurae Soó; Carduus crispus subsp. incanus (Klok.) Soó; Carduus crispus var. integrifolius Rchb.; Carduus crispus var. microcephalus Domin; Carduus fissurae Nyár.; Carduus incanus Klokov; Carduus inclinans Stokes

English Name: 

Curly Bristlethistle, Welted Thistle, Curly plumeless thistle

Chinese Name: 

丝毛飞廉 si mao fei lian

Description:      

Herbs 40-150 cm tall, biennial or perennial. Stems erect, apically usually branched, sparsely hirsute, usually cobwebby above; wings toothed, teeth with slender spines 1-3 mm at margin and apex. Leaves dark green, abaxially sometimes gray and thinly cobwebby, sparsely hirsute along veins. Lower cauline leaves sessile, ± narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate, 5-18 × 1-7 cm, pinnatifid or lowermost undivided; segments 7-12 pairs, elliptic, triangular, or ovate-triangular, margin spinulose and unequally toothed, teeth triangular, laterally with short spinules, and apically with a spine to ca. 3 mm. Middle cauline leaves similar but smaller. Uppermost cauline leaves oblanceolate to broadly linear. Capitula mostly 3-5 clustered at end of stem or branches, rarely solitary. Involucre subglobose, 1.5-2(-2.5) cm in diam., glabrous or sparsely cobwebby. Outer phyllaries triangular, ca. 3 × 0.7 mm, apex mucronulate to spiniform; middle phyllaries 4-13 × 0.9-2 mm, narrowed into a triangular-subulate erect-patent or spreading spiny-tipped distal portion; inner phyllaries linear, straight, distally membranous and acuminate. Corolla purplish red or rarely white, ca. 1.5 cm, tube ca. 7 mm. Achene ca. 4 mm. Pappus bristles white, to 1.3 cm. Flowering: May to July.

Ecological: 

Grasslands on mountain slopes, farmlands, wastelands, by rivers, forests; 400-3600 m.

Distribution: 

Distributed in most provinces of China. Kazakhstan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia; SW Asia, Europe.

Chemistry: 

beta-amyrin palmitate, taraxastery acetate, luteolin-7-O-alpha-L-rhamanopyranosyl-(1-->2)-beta-D-glucopyranoside, luteolin-7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, triacontanic acid, beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol and stigmast-7-en-3 beta-ol. Isoquinoline alkaloid (crispine A N-oxide).

Pharmacology: 

The methanol extract of Carduus crispus L.: acetylcholinesterase inhibitory effect

Part Used:  

Medical part: entire plant or roots. Chinese name: Feilian.

Harvest & Processing: 

Collected entire plant and flower in spring and summer, excavated in autumn, used fresh or removed flower and dried in shade, other parts cut into segments and sun-dried.

Properties & Actions: 

Bitter, neutral. Removing wind, clearing heat, inducing urination, cooling blood, arresting bleeding, activating blood and dispersing swelling.

Indications & Usage: 

Common cold and cough, headache and vertigo, infection of urinary system, albiduria, leucorrhea, jaundice, rheumatic arthralgia, hematemesis, non-traumatic hemorrhage, hematuria, hypermenorrhea, uterine bleeding dysfunction, injuries from falls, furunculosis and swelling, hemorrhoids and swelling pain, burns. Internal: decocting, 9-30g, fresh used 30-60g; or made as pills or powders; or made as medicinal liquor. External: appropriate amount, prepared decoction for washing; or used fresh, triturated for application; or directly burned preserving nature of the herb and powdered.

Examples:

1. Common cold, influenza: dried curly bristlethistle flower 9g or root 15g, flos lonicerae 9g, isatis root 15g. Decoct in water and swallow.

2. Hypermenorrhea: curly bristlethistle root or whole herb 31g, India madder 31g. Decoct in water and swallow.

- Zhang QY, Wang XY, Ying HP, Cheng TM, Zhao YY. Studies on the chemical constituents of Carduus crispus L. Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2001 Dec; 26(12):837-9.

- J Tunsag et al.; New isoquinoline alkaloid from Carduus crispus L.; Mongolian Journal of Chemistry; Vol 12 (2011) 

References

- libproject.hkbu.edu.hk

- efloras.org

- theplantlist.org