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CENTAUREA BENEDICTA. 
flowers are surrounded by an involucre of ten leaves : of these the five 
external ones are largest ; the calyx is oval, imbricated, woolly, and 
consists of squamous scales, terminated by pinnate, spinous points : 
the flowers are of a yellow colour : those of the ray small, trifid, and 
sterile : those of the centre hermaphrodite, tubular, and unequally 
divided at the limb ; the filaments are five, tapering, white, downy, 
and inserted in the base of the corolla ; the style is filiform ; the 
stigma cloven ; the seeds are oblong, bent, deeply serrated, of a 
brownish colour, and crowned with a double pappus ; the receptacle 
is paliaceous. 
Sensible Qualities, &c. The odour of this'plant is weak but 
unpleasant ; its taste intensely bitter. These qualities are extracted 
both by alcohol and water. Cold water poured on the dry leaves 
extracts, in an hour or two, a light, grateful bitterness; by standing 
longer upon the herb the liquor becomes disagreeable. Rectified 
spirit in a short time extracts the lighter bitter of the plant, but does 
not take up the nauseous so readily as water. The watery infusion 
is of a yellowish green colour, which is changed to a deep olive by 
sulphate of iron ; pure alkali changes it to an orange brown, but the 
carbonates do not affect it, Superacetate of lead and nitrate of 
silver occasion copious precipitates. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The medicinal eflfecls of 
this plant are various, depending upon the form and strength of the 
preparation which is administered. The weak watery infusion drank 
warm produces copious perspiration ; a strong infusion or decoction 
of the herb induces vomiting. The watery infusions made, either 
with hot or cold water, sufficiently strong to taste moderately bitter, 
and drank cold, proves an efficacious tonic in dyspepsia, debility of 
the digestive organs, and in loss of appetite. The infusion when 
administered as a tonic, may be made with six drachms of the herb 
to the pint of water, of which a wine-glassful should be taken seve- 
ral times a day. The leaves are also given in powder, in doses of 
from ten grains to one drachm. This plant is, however, almost ex- 
cluded from modern practice. Formerly it was the practice to assist 
the operation of emetics by drinking an infusion of the Centaurea 
Benedicta ; but the flowers of chamomile have since been substituted 
for this purpose, and probably for every other use the latter may he 
equally efficacious. 
Ofi". The herbaceous part, or the Leaves. 
