Milk Thistle (Blessed Thistle, Mary Thistle)

• Common Name: Milk Thistle (Blessed Thistle, Mary Thistle)
• Latin Name: Silybum marianum
• Family Name: Asteraceae/Compositae

Milk thistle has the ability to easily absorb nitrates if planted in nitrogen-rich soil, especially soil that has been treated with chemical fertilisers, so if you feed this plant then ensure that it is growing on poor soil.  Not to be confused with Lactuca serriola which is also sometimes called Milk Thistle.  See Prickly Lettuce.  Normally a wild plant, but is also cultivated and grown as an ornamental garden plant.