The Milk Thistle Silybum marianum
Introduced by Alan Garratt
In the final paragraph of 'J Conway Walter's Horsington" 🔗. ('TIMELINE EVENTS' tab) he talks about this plant and how it grows in All Saints churchyard, having originated from the Holy Land and being introduced here by Monks. He says this particular plant was transported from Kirkstead [sic] where it had become extinct.
My own inspection (July 2024) of the churchyard found only a well mown area with no sign of the plant so we must assume it has also become extinct here. Although, it may well have spread outside the churchyard and into fields and gardens. To the left is my specimen.
Also called cardus marianus, blessed milk thistle, Marian thistle, and Saint Mary's thistle. Silybum refers to the shape of its flower, whilst marianum refers to the Virgin Mary. This name harks back to Christian legend. It is said that Mary, on the way to Egypt, rested among thistles to nurse the infant Jesus. A few drops of her milk fell onto the thistle's leaves, and since then the leaves of only this type of thistle display prominent white marbling. Hence the many names for this plant which refer to Mary or milk. The medicinal properties of milk thistle have been known since ancient times.
