| Milk thistle | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Silybum |
| Species: | S. marianum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn.
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Carduus marianus L. | |
Silybum marianum is a species of thistle. It has various common names including milk thistle,[1] blessed milkthistle,[2] Marian thistle, Mary thistle, Saint Mary's thistle, Mediterranean milk thistle, variegated thistle and Scotch thistle (not to be confused with Onopordum acanthium or Cirsium vulgare). 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.
- ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Silphium marianum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 15 November 2015.