Milk thistle is commonly used as a home remedy to treat liver problems, often under the presumption that it will "detoxify" the liver. Leaves will not usually take more than 3 – 4 hours to dry completely in a typical home dehydrators on the nut and herb setting. Milk thistle is a purported galactogogue, and is included in some proprietary mixtures promoted to increase milk supply; however, no scientifically valid clinical trials support this use. The Greeks used milk thistle to treat snake bites and liver problems. This edible weed is also known as: It is during the initial days of fall when milk thistle begins to fade. Leave the flower heads inside of the bag, and hang in a cool dry place for about a week to allow them to dry thoroughly. Identification can be a bit tricky because it closely resembles dandelion (Taraxacum) and milk thistle (Lactuca serriola). Milk thistle and burdock are both tall, weedy plants with purple tops, but beyond that they are easy to tell apart. Roots and stalks were also cleaned and used in the same types of common menu items. When dealing with a particularly dry or spikey plant, I can even feel the tiny yet sharp thorns through my lined leather work gloves. When the leaves are crushed then a milky fluid is produced from them which is known as milk thistle. The smaller, egg-shaped upper leaves have less of the gray down on their undersides. Growth Form/Reproduction: Biennial to short-lived perennial; seeds. Amended in 1995, 1998, and 1999, it now declares musk, scotch, and Canada thistles to be noxious weeds and public nuisances in all counties of the state. Milk thistle is a heady, spiny plant with white-veined leaves and purple flowers. Indigestion (dyspepsia). Milk thistle is a perfect example of how plants can have both positive and negative impacts. The flower head has broad leathery bracts tipped with stiff spines that are from 3/4 to 2-inches long. Common thistles in the San Joaquin Valley Carduus Centaurea Cirsium Silybum Onopordum Italian thistle Yellow starthistle Bull thistle (Blessed) milkthistle Scotch thistle Tocalote (Malta starthistle) Canada thistle All of these species are found at least one of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, or Tulare Counties It grows in Mediterranean countries and is used to make natural remedies. On the one hand, milk thistle is a Class A noxious weed and quarantined species in Washington because of its negative impacts on pastures and livestock, the potential for rapid spread, and the difficulty to eradicate it once it establishes. Milk thistle has been traditionally used to to support liver health. Growth Form/Reproduction: Biennial to short-lived perennial; seeds. Unlike milkweed that grows in the spring and blooms in the middle of summer, milk thistle grows in the summer and blooms just as the season is ending – in most climates. Because milk thistle is related to ragweed, folks with seasonal allergies to this wild plant should avoid consuming it as either a fall foraging for edible or medicinal purposes. Each milk thistle flower can produce almost 200 seeds, with an average of 6,350 seeds per plant per year. The upper leaves on this wild edible ultimately clasp together at the stem. The plant’s extract might cause estrogenic effects. Milk thistle is one of the easiest to identify fall foraging offerings. Even if you have planned extensively to bug in, the possibility that you could be forced to bug out instead and rely perhaps solely upon your survival foraging knowledge, does exist. The seeds contain silymarin, a group of compounds said to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. FLORA FORCE ® MILK THISTLE capsules contain milk thistle (Silybum marianum) seed powder. Silymarin is the active ingredient in milk thistle. 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