Silybum
(an old Greek name, applied by Dioscorides to some Thistle-like plants). ORD. Compositae. A monotypic genus. The species is a glabrous, erect, biennial herb, included, in some books, under Carduus. "The specific name, Marianum, was given to this plant to preserve the legend that the white stain on the leaves was caused by the falling of a drop of the Virgin Mary's milk" (Lindley). The plant was formerly cultivated for culinary purposes, the root being boiled as a potherb, the heads treated like those of Artichokes, and the leaves used as a spring salad. It occurs in waste places, near gardens, &c., but is not indigenous to Britain. Any ordinary soil is suitable for its culture. Propagated by seeds.
S. Marianum (St. Mary's).* Blessed, Holy, or Our Lady's Milk Thistle. fl.-heads rose-purple, globose, 1in. to 2in. in diameter; involucral bracts coriaceous, closely appressed, with one very stout, terminal spine; receptacle fleshy, hairy, not pitted. July to September. l. large, alternate, sinuately lobed or pinnatifid, white-spotted above; teeth or lobes spiny. h. 1ft. to 4ft. South Europe, &c. (Sy. En. B. 681.)