Family |
Asteraceae
Silybum marianum
(L.) Gaertn.
Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn.
First published in Fruct. Sem. Pl. 2: 378 (1791).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, pp. 459–460, Pl. CCLXVI, 2; 1983)
Description
Life-form & habit: Thistle-like herb, 30–100 cm tall, with a simple or sparsely branched stem.
Leaves: Hairless and glossy, strongly toothed with spines and marbled white along the veins. Basal leaves stalked, obovate and deeply lobed; upper leaves ovate-lanceolate, undivided and clasping the stem with basal auricles.
Inflorescence & flowers: Purple flowers in rounded heads. Involucral bracts have an appressed, spiny, ovate base expanding into an ovate-subulate appendage.
Fruit: Dark-brown, mottled achenes about 7 mm long. Pappus in several rows, with rough outer bristles about 15 mm long and very fine inner bristles 0.5–1 mm long.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: March–May.
Habitat & elevation: Abandoned ground and waste places.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: South of Tyr, Saida, Beirut, Haret ech-Cheikh and Jamhour; also recorded at Kornet Chehwan.
Syrian distribution: Latakia, Jabal Semaane, Homs, Damascus and Ezra'a.
Native range: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Azores, Baleares, Bulgaria, Canary Is., Corse, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Gulf States, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kriti, Kuwait, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Madeira, Morocco, Nepal, North Caucasus, NW. Balkan Pen., Pakistan, Palestine, Portugal, Sardegna, Saudi Arabia, Sicilia, Sinai, Spain, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe, Uzbekistan, West Himalaya, Western Sahara, Yemen.
Introduced into: Alabama, Alberta, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Arizona, Arkansas, Austria, Baltic States, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Borneo, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, British Columbia, California, Cape Provinces, Central European Russia, Chatham Is., Chile Central, Chile North, Chile South, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Colombia, Colorado, Connecticut, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Ecuador, Falkland Is., Føroyar, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Hainan, Hungary, Illinois, Indiana, Inner Mongolia, Ireland, Jawa, Juan Fernández Is., Korea, Krym, Lesser Sunda Is., Louisiana, Malaya, Manchuria, Maryland, Mexico Southeast, Michigan, Mississippi, Netherlands, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New South Wales, New York, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Norfolk Is., North Carolina, North European Russia, Northern Provinces, Northern Territory, Northwest European Russia, Norway, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Paraguay, Pennsylvania, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Primorye, Qinghai, Queensland, Québec, Romania, Saskatchewan, South Australia, South European Russia, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tasmania, Tennessee, Texas, Thailand, Tibet, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vermont, Victoria, Vietnam, Virginia, Washington, West Siberia, West Virginia, Western Australia, Wisconsin, Xinjiang.