Silybum MarianumL Gaertn COMPOSITAE
Milk Thistle Marian Thistle / Wild Artichoke
Dioscorides described this herb as silybon but from early Christian times both Latin and common names have normally included the name of the Virgin Mary, after an old tradition that the white veination on the leaves came from her milk. From this there arose the belief that the plant affected lactation - for which there is no modern evidence.
The herb is effective upon the liver, however, a property it shares with another species of the Compositae Family, the Artichoke; and, like the Artichoke, the flower receptacle can be eaten.
Milk Thistle was formerly cultivated quite widely, not only for the receptacle but also for the young stalks, leaves and roots - the latter resembling Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius L).
In the eighteenth century the young shoots were thought to be superior to the best cabbage. Medicinally the herb was often used in place of the Blessed Thistle (Cnicus benedictus L) and for a long time the seed was considered a specific for stitches in the side.
Description annual or biennial; 30-150 cm tall with erect, prominently grooved, seldom branched stem. Leaves large, oblong, shiny, variegated and very spiny; sessile or clasping. Flowers violet-purple, thistle like in a hemis- pherical capitula to 5 cm long; usually solitary and surrounded at the base by long spiny appendages. Appearing late summer to early autumn.
Distribution Native to central and west Europe; introduced and naturalized in California and elsewhere. On dry rocky or stony soils in waste-lands, fields and roadsides to 600 m altitude.
Cultivation Wild plant. Easily grown from seed; prefers sunny situation and well-drained soil.
Constituents Essential oil; tyramine; histamine; bitter principles; a flavonoid, silymarine.
Uses (powdered seed, fresh and dried leaves, whole and dried flowering plant, fresh root, fresh young stems and shoots, fresh receptacle) Choleretic; cholagogue; bitter tonic; hyper- tensive; diuretic. The whole herb is of value in the stimulation of appetite and to assist digestion. The powdered seeds taken in emulsion are markedly choleretic and of use in certain cardiovascular disorders. They also act prophylactically against travel sickness. Formerly used in the treatment of leg ulcers and varicose veins. Young leaves, shoots, peeled stems, receptacles and roots can he cooked and eaten.
Contra-indications The seed should be used only under the guidance of experienced herbal medicine practitioners.
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