Our sourcing partners uphold fair wages, safe working conditions, and inclusive practices that value the hands and hearts behind each harvest.

Every bag supports small-scale growers and the renewal of our soil, our communities, and our connection to the earth.

Historically revered across Mediterranean and European folk medicine as a blessed protective herb, Cnicus benedictus was taken as a bitter tonic for loss of appetite, sluggish digestion, flatulence, and “stagnant humors.” It also appeared in vulnerary washes for minor wounds and as a general alterative bitter to “cleanse and strengthen.” 

Current Uses

• Loss of appetite (temporary); pre-meal bitter to stimulate digestive secretions. 

• Symptomatic relief of mild dyspepsia (bloating, fullness, gas) and mild GI spasm. 

• Bitter carminative in simple dyspeptic states; supportive of bile flow. 

• Topical vulnerary (herb preparations) for minor cuts/abrasions (recognized in Canadian monograph). 

• Traditionally cited as a galactagogue in North American practice (variable evidence; product-specific in Canada).

*To learn more about this plant’s traditional and modern uses, energetics, and potential contraindications, visit our Materia Medica section and search for this herb by name. There, you’ll find detailed notes on safe use and preparation methods.