Milk Thistle

Silybum marianum

Silybum marianum is a species of thistle. It has various common names including milk thistle, blessed milkthistle, Marian thistle, Mary thistle, Saint Mary's thistle, Mediterranean milk thistle, variegated thistle and Scotch thistle. This species is an annual or biennial plant of the family Asteraceae. This fairly typical thistle has red to purple flowers and shiny pale green leaves with white veins. Once native from Southern Europe through Asia, it has spread throughout the world.

Milk

Milk is usually a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest solid food. Milk contains many nutrients, including calcium and protein, as well as lactose and saturated fat; the enzyme lactase is needed to break down lactose. Immune factors and immune-modulating components in milk contribute to milk immunity. The first milk, which is called colostrum, contains antibodies and immune-modulating components that strengthen the immune system against many diseases.

Thistle

Thistle is the popular name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp spikes on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the plant – on the stem, and on the flat parts of the leaves. These prickles protect the plant from herbivores. Typically, an involucre with a clasping shape, similar to a cup or urn, subtends each of a thistle's flower heads. The typically feathery pappus of a ripe thistle flower is known as thistle-down.

Shades of purple

There are numerous variations of the color purple, a sampling of which is shown below.

milk thistle

Noun

1. Any of the thistles in the genus Silybum, especially Silybum marianum.
2. Lactuca serriola, prickly lettuce