Silybum marianum has been used for thousands of years as an edible food and for its healthful properties. This organic milk thistle seed powder is perfect for tincturing or encapsulating. Other uses for milk thistle powder include infusing oil for cosmetic preparations and incorporating into culinary dishes such as smoothies, stews, and soups.
Milk thistle has been revered for thousands of years as an effective herb. However, early on all parts of the plant were used for a variety of purposes. The leaves were extensively utilized and often eaten as a vegetable. Silybum marianum grows as an annual or biennial from three to seven feet in height, has smooth, shiny, lettuce-like leaves with white veins and spines along the margins, and a solitary purple flower that can grow up to two and a half inches in diameter. It is native to the Mediterranean region and southwestern Europe and has been widely cultivated for hundreds of years. In the U.S, it is considered a noxious weed in several states, particularly in the Pacific Northwest in states such as Washington.
Milk Thistle is a member of the vast sunflower or Asteraceae family, which encompasses a wide variety of well-known plants such as lettuce (Lactuca sativa), the common daisy (Bellis perennis), the blessed thistle (Cnicus benedictus), and artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus), to name a few. Many of the common names, and the outdated Latin name, refer to the belief that the milk of the Virgin Mary dropped on the plant leaving behind the milky white 'marbling' that give the leaves their very distinctive coloration.
