SILYBUM Adans. - Milk-thistle
Scientific Description:
Biennial, with simple or sparingly branched unwinged stems arising from a basal rosette. Leaves spiny. Capitula solitary, homogamous, discoid. Involucre subglobose; phyllaries pluriseriate with spiny margins. Receptacle flat, densely setose. Flowers pink to purple. Corolla deeply and obliquely 5-lobed. Filaments glandular, monadelphous. Achenes somewhat compressed, obovate, smooth, bearing a conical umbo at apex surrounded by an entire collar; hilum almost basal. Pappus pluriseriate, outer hairs scabrous, inner ones shorter and capillaceous, all connate at base into a deciduous ring.
Reference:
Kupicha FK (1975). Silybum Adans., In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 5: 369.
Public Description:
Silybum, known as “milk-thistle”, is native to the Mediterranean regions of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. There are 2 species in the world and 1 species (2 taxa) in Türkiye. They are annual or biennial plants with pink-to-purple, rarely white flowers. These plants have active ingredient called “silymarin”, which is found only in the seed shell has liver-protective and regenerative properties, as well as antioxidant effects.
References:
Anonymous 1 (2017). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silybum/, Accessed date: 31.08.2017.
Anonymous 2 (2017). http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Compositae/Silybum/, Accessed date: 31.08.2017.
Anonymous 3 (2017). https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/search/?q=silybum,Accessed date: 31.08.2017.
Anonymous 4 (2018). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4572925/,Accessed date: 27.02.2018.
Ekim T (2012). Silybum Adans, In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 201.
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