If interest is needed in your herb garden, add milk thistle. This plant is an eye-catcher with its spiny appearance, large green and white leaves, and thistle flower stalks. This herb has been traced back to Europe where it was used as a remedy for depression and liver ailments.
DESCRIPTION
Milk thistle is a biennial; that is, it will grow for two years. The white veining on the green leaves almost looks as if someone traced the veins with a white pencil. Reddish-purple thistle type flowers bloom on bold flower stalks, reaching a height of four to five feet.
GROWING, HARVESTING
Start milk thistle from seeds after the last frost, or start indoors a few weeks ahead of time. Plant in a sunny location in well drained soil. Like many herbs, this one does not need much fertilization. A little compost or balanced fertilizer will suffice. Plants will bloom in early summer. Seed collecting should be done in late summer.
USES
There is much research being done today on the seeds of the milk thistle, which contain a substance called silymarin, which exerts a protective defense against poisons which enter the liver which could be possibly damaging. According to research, complete liver breakdown from eating death cap mushrooms can be prevented by taking this substance right before or after the ingestion. Today this herb can be found even on the shelves of grocery stores as a natural aid to health. It is also used to help improve disorders such as hepatitis, liver infection, excess alcohol, and to ease the effects of chemotherapy.
The flower heads of milk thistle are boiled and used as a spring tonic.
SEED SOURCE
Elixir Farm Botanicals http://www.elixirfarm.com/images/Indig/m...
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