HerbWildAnnualMedicinal

Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertner

Milk Thistle

Synonym: Carduus marianus L

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Description

Silybum marianum is a robust annual or biennial herb, usually 50–200 cm tall, with a stout, erect, branched stem. Leaves are large, glossy green, oblong to pinnatifid, prominently marbled with white veins, and armed with sharp yellow spines along the margins. Flower heads are solitary, large, and terminal, surrounded by spiny involucral bracts. Florets are all tubular and purple to reddish-purple. Fruits are shiny black or brown achenes with a white feathery pappus.

Diagnostic Characters

Vegetative

Large white-marbled spiny leaves.

Floral

Large solitary purple flower heads enclosed by spiny bracts.

Fruit & Seed

Smooth shiny achenes with a white pappus.

Distribution

Native range: Mediterranean region.

Introduced range: Widely naturalized throughout Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Australia, and Africa.

In Pakistan: Common in northern and central Pakistan, especially in disturbed habitats.

Phenology

Flowering

Fruiting

Flowering: March–June Fruiting: April–July

Ethnobotany & Uses

Medicinal Uses

One of the world's most important medicinal plants. Seeds contain silymarin, a flavonolignan complex widely used for the treatment of liver disorders and as a hepatoprotective agent.

Food Uses

Young leaves and stems are occasionally consumed after removal of spines.

Other Uses

Frequently cultivated as a medicinal herb and ornamental plant.

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Where it grows on campus

This species is on the campus floristic list but was not pinned during the GPS mapping survey, so it has no map records yet.

Taxonomic Notes

Silybum marianum, commonly known as Milk Thistle, is readily recognized by its striking white-marbled leaves and large purple flower heads surrounded by spiny bracts. It is the only widely cultivated species of the genus Silybum and is accepted by Flora of Pakistan, Plants of the World Online (POWO), and World Flora Online (WFO).