Milk Thistle
Milk Thistle - Eype, West Dorset
Flowerhead and sharp, spreading bracts
Flowerhead and bracts from above
Close-up of bracts
White-veined leaves
Cottony stem
Cottony stem, grooves and no wings
Leaves in winter
Silybum marianum
Asteraceae
Late May to August
It is found mainly in the Southeast, East Anglia, the South
and the near Southwest.
It is thinly scattered in the rest of the country.
See the BSBI distribution map for Milk Thistle
It is an archeophyte, which is still being introduced with
bird-seed, grass-seed, oil-seed and wool shoddy.
It is also an escape from gardens.
It has become naturalised and persistent, particularly in
southern coastal areas.
It grows in grassy places, such as sea cliffs, rough
pasture, grassy banks, hedgerows and on waste ground.
Milk Thistle is an annual or biennial herb, growing up
to 120cm.
Flowers are solitary, purple and up to 5cm across.
The bracts are yellowish with sharp spines.
Leaves are green and marbled with white veins, making
Milk Thistle easily identifiable without the flowers.
Stems are un-winged, grooved and slightly cottony.
The sap is milky.
Extracts of Milk Thistle are used widely in alternative
medicine – see Milk Thistle therapeutics.
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Milk Thistle - Eype, West Dorset
Flowerhead and sharp, spreading bracts
Flowerhead and bracts from above
Close-up of bracts
White-veined leaves
Cottony stem
Cottony stem, grooves and no wings
Leaves in winter
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