Thursday, November 5, 2020

Milk Thistle - Silybum marianum


Can you not see why I giggled as I typed the latin name of milk thistle.  Considering I had asked for it as an indigestion remedy at the Organic Food shop and she had offered me a packet of this remedy at £12.  I refused of course, got mint at home was my reply.  

But I thought to look further into this plant, and went to Grigson - The Englishman's Flora for an explanation.  His little essays are a delight on the wild plants of England.  He first traces the history of the name, you can see marianum, which points to the Catholic reference of Mary.  The white veins to  be found in the thorny leaves represent the milk of Mary of course.  But Grigson who always goes back to John Gerard herbalist's book, says that Gerard only acknowledges silently the Catholic history, for by then Protestantism had become the go to religion of the time.  Though John Evelyn in 1699, says that it was a 'great breeder of milk' and a proper diet for wet nurses.  This is all a nonsense during the  medieval period, the similarity of plants to the various parts of the human body.

But it is true that milk thistle can be used for medicinal purposes, but properly.  And as my herbal book says Treatment with Milk thistle should be medically supervised in no uncertain tone for it can have side effects.

You can also eat it, having first of course plucked off the spines on the leaves, young shoots and root as well, if you want that is.


Edit;  What has kept me sane?  The Vicar of Dibley and Alice (Emma Chambers ,such a sad loss)


 


4 comments:

  1. Milk Thistle is good for the liver too, I have taken it in the past for that. Thank you for the clip, I had forgotten how wonderful that programme was.

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    1. I think it just has some side effects but then most of the tablets we take have warnings. I just love the jokes on the end of the credits as Alice destroys them.

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  2. I have only just found out that 'Milk Stout' is named thus because it was given to women to 'help lactation'. All my life I have been wondering how they could compare dark brown beer to milk. Silly me.

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  3. I expect its because of the iron in it, milk stout is about the only thing I would drink in the beer line, it has a b.eautiful colour

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