Wild Flowers Provence

Identify wild flowers, trees, shrubs, orchids and other plants in Provence, France.

Environ 2800 photos de près de 700 plantes sauvages.  Comment le voir en français.
Around 2800 photos of nearly 700 wild plants: guide.

Scroll results, or click for more...

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Search in posts
product
page
Google Translate

Silybum marianum

Chardon Marie
Milk Thistle

Category:

Additional information

Plant family

Area

Provence Verte

Flower colour

purple

Flower size

25-40 mm

Flowering months

April,

May,

June

Leaf type

Pinnatisect

Height

2 m

Description

Fields, roadsides, olive groves.

Flowers

flowerheads are purple, solitary at the end of a branched stem. The florets are tubular, bracts are oblong, terminating in 7 cm spines.

Leaves

Pinnatisect leaf is deeply lobed, almost to the central midrib. Basal: deeply divided almost to central midrib, white spiny margins. Upper: clasping stem, smaller.

Fruits Seeds

Achene: a cluster of 1-seeded fruit with tufts of hair.

Edible

Leaves: spines removed and steamed, taste like spinach.

Medical

Seeds: traditionally used to treat ‘fatty liver’ after excessive alcohol use, hepatitis A & B, cirrhoses of the liver and gallbladder problems.

How to use this page

• Click or touch the large image to see and scroll the images against a dark background.

• Click the "Go back" button to return to your plant search or filtered selection.

• Click on the Category or Plant family above to list plants in the same category or family.

• Click "Wild Plants" (or the website title) at the top of the page to start again.