A new Herball/Part I/Of Acanthium

by William Turner (1510-1568)

Acanthium canthium is a kynde of thystel indented after the fashion of branke vrsin, but the gappes are not so far in sunder, the lefe broken hath in it a longe thyng lyke cotton or fyne doune, the heade is lyke the heade of a tasell, but muche lesse. It hath blewe floures, the hole herbe is clammy, and hath a stronge sauoure, I neuer sawe it growe, but in gardynes in England and in Italy. some say that the Herbaries name it Carduum asinium, but as yet I coulde neuer learne Acanthium.
any Englysh name of it, I for a shyft therfore am cōpelled to name it Ote thystell or cotton thystell, because the sedes of the herbe are lyke Otes and the leues brokene resemble cotton. The vertues of Othe thystell fynde no other good propertye, that Dioscorides sayeth, that thy Herbe hath, sauing that it is good for them that haue their neke bowyng backward by vyolence of a crampy dysease, but not of nature. It groweth in London in Doctor Barthlettis gardin.