Pronunciation: sen-TORE-ee-a ben-e-DIK-tus
Common name: Blessed thistle
Family: Asteraceae (Sunflower)
Habitat: Roadsides, fields, waste places to 2500',
South Coast, west Mojave Desert, naturalized from
Europe
Blooming period: April to July
Click for Latin name derivations: 1) Centaurea
2) benedictus
Formerly Cnicus benedictus