Flora of North America species comparison

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Silybum marianum

blessed milk-thistle, chardon marie, milk-thistle
Stems

glabrous or slightly tomentose.
Leaves

basal wing-petioled, blades 15–60+ cm, margins coarsely lobed;

cauline leaves clasping, progressively smaller and less divided, bases spiny, coiled, auriculate.
Corollas

26–35 mm;

tubes 13–25 mm, throats campanulate, 2–3 mm, lobes 5–9 mm.
Cypselae

brown and black spotted, 6–8 mm;

pappus scales 15–20 mm.
Phyllary

appendages spreading, ovate, 1–4 cm including long-tapered spine tips.
2n

= 34.

Silybum marianum
Phenology Flowering Feb–Jun (west), Jul–Sep (north).
Habitat Roadsides, pastures, waste areas, sometimes cultivated
Elevation 0–800 m [0–2600 ft]
Distribution
map from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CT; IN; LA; MI; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; TN; TX; VA; VT; WA; WV; AB; BC; NB; NS; ON; QC; SK; s Europe (Mediterranean region) [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Silybum marianum is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental, a minor vegetable, or as a medicinal herb. Young shoots can be boiled and eaten like cabbage and young leaves can be added to salads. The seeds can be used as a coffee substitute. Extracts of S. marianum are used as an herbal treatment for liver ailments.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Cardueae > Silybum
Synonyms Carduus marianus
Name authority (Linnaeus) Gaertner: Fruct. Sem. Pl. 2: 378. (1791)
Source FNA vol. 19, p. 164. Treatment author: David J. Keil.
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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