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Silybum marianum - (L.)Gaertn.
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Common Name
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Milk Thistle
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Family
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Asteraceae or Compositae
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Synonyms
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Carduus lactifolius. Carduus marianus. Centaurea dalmatica. Mariana lactea
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Known Hazards
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When grown on nitrogen rich soils, especially those that have been fed with chemical fertilizers, this plant can concentrate nitrates in the leaves. Nitrates are implicated in stomach cancers. Diabetics should monitor blood glucose when using. Avoid if decompensated liver cirrhosis. Possible headaches, nausea, irritability and minor gastrointestinal upset [301].
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Habitats
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Waste places[17], usually close to the sea[5], especially if the ground is dry and rocky[165].
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Range
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S. Europe, N. Africa and W. Asia. Naturalized in Britain.
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Edibility Rating
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Medicinal Rating
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Care
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Physical Characteristics
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Silybum marianum is a BIENNIAL growing to 1.2 m (4ft) by 1 m (3ft 3in) at a fast rate.
It is hardy to zone 7 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf 12-Jan It is in flower from Jul to September, and the seeds ripen from Aug to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils.
It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.
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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Rjelves |
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Habitats
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Cultivated Beds;
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Edible Uses
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Edible Parts: Flowers; Leaves; Oil; Oil; Root; Stem.
Edible Uses: Coffee; Oil; Oil.
Root - raw or cooked[1, 2, 4, 52, 183]. A mild flavour and somewhat mucilaginous texture[K]. When boiled, the roots resemble salsify (Tragopogon hispanicus)[1, 4, 115]. Leaves - raw or cooked[1, 4, 5, 52, 89, 115]. The very sharp leaf-spines must be removed first[46, 183], which is quite a fiddly operation[K]. The leaves are quite thick and have a mild flavour when young, at this time they are quite an acceptable ingredient of mixed salads, though they can become bitter in hot dry weather[K]. When cooked they make an acceptable spinach substitute[238]. It is possible to have leaves available all year round from successional sowings[K]. Flower buds - cooked[1, 238]. A globe artichoke substitute[12, 183], they are used before the flowers open. The flavour is mild and acceptable, but the buds are quite small and even more fiddly to use than globe artichokes[K]. Stems - raw or cooked[4, 100]. They are best peeled and can be soaked to reduce the bitterness[5, 183]. Palatable and nutritious[4, 115], they can be used like asparagus or rhubarb[12] or added to salads. They are best used in spring when they are young[105]. A good quality oil is obtained from the seeds[4]. The roasted seed is a coffee substitute[21, 46, 61, 183].
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Medicinal Uses
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Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Astringent; Bitter; Cholagogue; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Emetic; Emmenagogue; Hepatic; Homeopathy; Stimulant; Stomachic;
Tonic.
Blessed thistle has a long history of use in the West as a remedy for depression and liver problems[254]. Recent research has confirmed that it has a remarkable ability to protect the liver from damage resulting from alcoholic and other types of poisoning[254]. The whole plant is astringent, bitter, cholagogue, diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic, emmenagogue, hepatic, stimulant, stomachic and tonic[4, 21, 160, 165, 238]. It is used internally in the treatment of liver and gall bladder diseases, jaundice, cirrhosis, hepatitis and poisoning[238]. The plant is harvested when in flower and dried for later use[238]. Silymarin, an extract from the seed, acts on the membranes of the liver cells preventing the entry of virus toxins and other toxic compounds and thus preventing damage to the cells[244]. It also dramatically improves liver regeneration in hepatitis, cirrhosis, mushroom poisoning and other diseases of the liver[222, 238, 254]. German research suggests that silybin (a flavonoid component of the seed) is clinically useful in the treatment of severe poisoning by Amanita mushrooms[222]. Seed extracts are produced commercially in Europe[222]. Regeneration of the liver is particularly important in the treatment of cancer since this disease is always characterized by a severely compromised and often partially destroyed liver[K]. A homeopathic remedy is obtained from equal parts of the root and the seed with its hulls still attached[4]. It is used in the treatment of liver and abdominal disorders[9]. The German Commission E Monographs, a therapeutic guide to herbal medicine, approve Silybum marianum Milk Thistle for dyspeptic complaints, liver and gallbladder complaints (see [302] for critics of commission E).
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Other Uses
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Green manure; Oil; Oil.
A good green manure plant, producing a lot of bulk for incorporation into the soil[K].
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Cultivation details
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Succeeds in any well-drained fertile garden soil[1, 200]. Prefers a calcareous soil[12] and a sunny position[200]. Hardy to about -15°c[200]. The blessed thistle is a very ornamental plant that was formerly cultivated as a vegetable crop[1, 61, 238]. Young plants are prone to damage from snails and slugs[200]. Plants will often self sow freely[K].
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Propagation
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Seed - if sown in situ during March or April, the plant will usually flower in the summer and complete its life cycle in one growing season[K]. The seed can also be sown from May to August when the plant will normally wait until the following year to flower and thus behave as a biennial[K]. The best edible roots should be produced from a May/June sowing, whilst sowing the seed in the spring as well as the summer should ensure a supply of edible leaves all year round[K].
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 You can download this page as a PDF
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Botanical References
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17200
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Links / References
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[K] Ken Fern Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
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[1]F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
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Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
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[2]Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World.
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Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
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[4]Grieve. A Modern Herbal.
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Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
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[5]Mabey. R. Food for Free.
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Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.
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[9]Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants.
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Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
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[12]Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder.
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A handy pocket guide.
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[17]Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles.
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A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
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[21]Lust. J. The Herb Book.
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Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
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[46]Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants.
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An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
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[52]Larkcom. J. Salads all the Year Round.
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A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation.
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[61]Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man.
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Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
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[89]Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. Flowers of the Mediterranean.
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A very readable pocket flora that is well illustrated. Gives some information on plant uses.
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[100]Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide.
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An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.
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[105]Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
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The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
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[115]Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.
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Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.
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[160]Natural Food Institute, Wonder Crops. 1987.
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Fascinating reading, this is an annual publication. Some reports do seem somewhat exaggerated though.
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[165]Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
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An excellent small herbal.
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[183]Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
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Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
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[200]Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
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Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
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[222]Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America.
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A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
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[238]Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses.
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A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
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[244]Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs
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Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.
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[254]Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants
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An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
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[301]Karalliedde. L. and Gawarammana. I. Traditional Herbal Medicines
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A guide to the safer use of herbal medicines.
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[302]From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Commission E
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_E
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Subject : Silybum marianum
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