Blessed Milk Thistle, also known as Marian Thistle, Mary Thistle, Saint Mary's Thistle, and variegated thistle, is an annual or biennial plant of the Aster family. Blessed Milk Thistle originally is a native species of Southern Europe through to Asia, it is now found throughout the world and is very common. Blessed Milk thistle gets its name from the milky sap that comes out of the leaves when they are broken. The leaves also have unique white markings that, according to legend, were the Virgin Mary’s milk.

Milk thistle is used most often for liver disorders, including liver damage caused by chemicals, Amanita phalloides mushroom poisoning, jaundice, chronic inflammatory liver disease, cirrhosis of the liver, and chronic hepatitis. Nevertheless, researchers have not yet concluded with certainty that blessed milk thistle is effective for any of these uses. Cultivated fields for the production of raw material for the pharmaceutical industry exist on a larger scale in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, China and Argentina. In Europe, blessed milk thistle, is sown yearly in March and April. The harvest in two steps (cutting and threshing) takes place in August, about 2 to 3 weeks after the plant has flowered.

Within the realm of naturopathic medicine and folklore, blessed milk thistle has a long history of use in North America and Europe as a remedy for depression and liver problems. Blessed Milk Thistle has also been used as a food source and the roasted seeds were used as a coffee substitute.

Please note that MIROFOSS does not suggest in any way that plants should be used in place of proper medical and psychological care. This information is provided here as a reference only.

Blessed Milk Thistle is considered editable. A mild flavour and somewhat mucilaginous texture when boiled, the roots resemble salsify. The leaves of blessed milk thistle, raw or cooked, must have the very sharp leaf-spines removed before consumption.

Blessed Milk Thistle, like many other plants in the genus Silybum, are native to Eurasia and northern Africa. Blessed Milk Thistle is 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. Blessed Milk Thistle cannot grow in the shade and it prefers dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Soil Conditions
Soil Moisture
Sunlight
Notes:

Blessed Milk Thistle can grow from 30cm to 200cm tall with an overall conical plant shape. The stem of the blessed milk thistle is grooved and more or less cotton like with the largest specimens; The stem will become hollow. The leaves of the blessed milk thistle are oblong to lanceolate. They are either lobate or pinnate, with spiny edges. They are hairless, shiny green, with milk-white veins that when broken produce a milky white sap. The flower heads are 4cm to 12 cm long and wide and are red to purple in colour. Blessed Milk Thistle is in bloom from June to August in the Northern Hemisphere or December to February in the Southern Hemisphere. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. The seeds of the blessed milk thistle are black with a simple long white pappus surrounded by a yellow basal ring.

Plant Height	30cm to 200cm
Habitat	Waste Places, Rocky Soil
Leaves	Oblong to lanceolate, either lobate or pinnate, with spiny edges
Leaf Margin	Ciliate
Leaf Venation	Pinnately lobed
Stems	Grooved and more or less cottony
Flowering Season	June to August
Flower Type	Rounded clusters of ray less flowers
Flower Colour	violet, vary rarely red
Pollination	Bees
Flower Gender	Flowers are hermaphrodite
Fruit	Small silky tufts carried by wind
USDA Zone	10B (4.4°C to 1.1°C) cold weather limit

The following health hazards should be noted when handling blessed milk thistle:

	SHARP HAZARD Thistles contain small sharp thorns which can be painful if incorrectly handled.
	POSSIBLE TOXICITY 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. Possible headaches, nausea, irritability and minor gastrointestinal upset can occur after ingesting.
	ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD Because of potassium nitrate content, the plant has been found to be toxic to cattle and sheep. When potassium nitrate is eaten by ruminants, the bacteria in an animal's stomach break the chemical down, producing a nitrite ion. Nitrite ion then combines with hemoglobin to produce methaemoglobin, blocking the transport of oxygen. The result is a form of oxygen deprivation.

-Click here- or on the thumbnail image to see an artist rendering, from The United States Department of Agriculture, of blessed milk thistle. (This image will open in a new browser tab)

-Click here- or on the thumbnail image to see a magnified view, from The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, of the seeds created by blessed milk thistle for propagation. (This image will open in a new browser tab)

Blessed Milk Thistle can be referenced in certain current and historical texts under the following three names:

Milk Thistle	Marian Thistle	Mary Thistle	Saint Mary's Thistle
Mediterranean Thistle	Variegated Thistle

Blessed Milk Thistle can be translated into the following select languages:

Arabic	المبارك الحليب الشوك	Bulgarian	Блажен млякомагарешки бодил	Chinese (Sim)	祝福奶蓟
Croatian	Blago mlijeko čičak	Czech	požehnané Ostropestřec mariánský	Danish	velsignede mælk tidsel
Dutch	Gezegend melkdistel	Esperanto	benitan lakto prunelon	Estonian	õnnistatud piima ohakas
Finnish		French	chardon béni	German	Mariendistel
Greek	Ευλογημένος γαϊδουράγκαθο	Hebrew	גדילן מצויה לברכה	Hungarian	áldott bogáncs
Italian	Beato latte cardo	Japanese	祝福オオアザミ	Korean	축복 엉겅퀴
Low Saxon		Lithuanian	palaimintosios pieno usnis	Norwegian	velsignet melk tistel
Persian	خوشا به شیر خار	Polish	Błogosławiony Ostropest	Portuguese	cardo de leite abençoadas
Romanian	Ferice de lapte ciulin	Russian	благословенные Расторопша	Slovak	požehnanej Pestrec mariánsky
Spanish	Bendita leche cardo	Swedish	välsignade mjölktistel	Tagalog	tistle mapalad gatas
Turkish	Mübarek süt devedikeni	Ukrainian	благословенні Розторопша	Vietnamese	cây kế sữa phúc

The information provided in this conservation assessment has been provided by the Natureserve Database in conjuction with various federal, provincial, state, county, district, regional, and municipal governments as well as public and private conservation authorities. Information in this section is accurate from the last time this article was updated.
	Blessed Milk Thistle has no conservation status as it is considered an exotic and or invasive species in North America.

The MIROFOSS database offers free printable garden tags for personal and non-profit use. These tags can be used to properly identify plant samples in a garden. Click on the tags shown on the the screen or -click here- to download a full size jpeg image for a blessed milk thistle identification tag; which can be printed on paper or used with a plastic laser printer.

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Description	Rose, Francis (1981). The Wild Flower Key. Frederick Warne. pp. 388–9. ISBN 0-7232-2419-6.
Folklore	Hogan, Fawn S.; Krishnegowda, Naveen K.; Mikhailova, Margarita; Kahlenberg, Morton S. (2007). "Flavonoid, Silibinin, Inhibits Proliferation and Promotes Cell-Cycle Arrest of Human Colon Cancer". Journal of Surgical Research 143 (1): 58–65.
Biology	Kroll, D. J.; Shaw, H. S.; Oberlies, N. H. (2007). "Milk Thistle Nomenclature: Why It Matters in Cancer Research and Pharmacokinetic Studies". Integrative Cancer Therapies 6 (2): 110–9.
Image Rendering	USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Environment	National Audubon Society. Field Guide To Wildflowers (Eastern Region): Alfred A. Knopf. pp 415-420 ISBN 0-375-40232-2
Physical Identification	National Audubon Society. Field Guide To Wildflowers (Eastern Region): Alfred A. Knopf. pp 415-420 ISBN 0-375-40232-2
February 02, 2015	The last time this page was updated
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