Botanical Materia Medica

St. Mary’s Thistle is one of the corner stone plants of the Western Materia Medica . It is one of the most important medicinal herbs for general daily detoxification of environmental toxins as well as a treatment in more serious liver conditions. It has the unique ability to not only repair ill liver cells but also promote their healthy regrowth. Come on a journey and meet Her Majesty St. Mary’s Thistle.

What the name is telling us

Nomen est omen and any plant with a name that refers to a holy person, a saint or is inferred to be blessed or magical is bound to be a powerful plant. Legend has it that the milk-white veins on the leaves originated in the milk of the Virgin which once fell upon the Thistle, hence the English name ‘Our Lady’s Thistle’ or ‘St. Mary’s Thistle’. The holy mother is named as the patroness of the plant in other languages too: ‘Mariendistel’ in German, ‘Chardon Marie’ in French and ‘Cardo mariano’ in Italian. Variegated Thistle or Milk Thistle are its plain English names. The Latin name Silybum marianum comes from the Greek word silybon meaning tassel or tuft and marianum refering to St. Mary. An older name of this Asteraceae is Carduus marianus which sometimes can lead to a botanical confusion with other Carduus species.

Whilst the heads were formerly eaten like those of the Artichoke it is the seeds harvested in autumn that are medicinally most valuable. The plant is native to southern Europe, southern Russia and North Africa and may be found growing wild in warm and dry waste areas where other plants would struggle to grow. In New Zealand, St. Mary’s Thistle is unfortunately classified as a weed and is therefore not cultivated. As the world wide demand of this beneficial plant with detoxifying properties is high, shortages of supply, especially of the certified organic quality, can be experienced at times.

St. Mary’s Thistle in nature

The plant is impressive in every way. In my garden she displays an extraordinary manifestation, having flown in from heaven into a well composted area meant to be food for other herbs. St. Mary’s Thistle can grow in both in dry and wet soil as long as the plant receives a lot of light and warmth. However, it is in nutrient rich soils like my composted garden patch where she realises her full potential. Over 1.5 meters tall with large, deeply cut spine-edged shiny green leaves which can be up to 30-50cm long she a majestic sight indeed. When switching to ‘soft eyes’ one can imagine the pink-purple blossom – which appears in the second year if the flower stems are not cut back – like a regal crown and the artistically and symmetrically arranged spikes underneath like the collar of noble clothing as seen on old paintings. No, this is no ordinary thistle, if there is anything like that in the first place! This is a plant with a mission, tenacious in character, her presence unmistakable and her job is going to be thorough and far reaching.

When navigating carefully around the myriad of very sharp tiny spikes one can carefully touch her decorative leaves. They feel surprisingly comforting, cool and soft to touch. This is a nourishing plant and if she didn’t protect herself with her (admittedly rather nasty) spikes she would have been eradicated long ago by animals in search of nutrient rich foods. As the old herbalists saw it, this plant symbolises the essence of St. Mary’s Mothermilk: nourishing, restoring, protecting and unconditionally benign. Interestingly, the seeds contain fixed oil which can give liquid extracts a milky colour.  This plant is very safe too and long term studies failed to demonstrate any toxicity or teratogenic effects, meaning that it can be safely used on a daily bases, including by pregnant women [1].

In the next blog I explain the  medicinal properties of St. Mary’s Thistle and how you can make use of this valuable plant to stay youthful and healthy.

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[1] Hahn G, Lehmann HD, Kurten M et al. Arzneimittel Forschung 1968; 18:698-704.