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Blessed Milk-thistle

Silybum marianum

Found in disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

—
Not native

Not native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 59%

Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to wet

At a glance

Bloom
May to July

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

County records are not available.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · Silybum

  • Platyptilia carduidactylusArtichoke Plume Moth
  • Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
  • Vanessa virginiensisAmerican Lady, American Painted Lady
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
4BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Silybum

  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
  • Haemorhous mexicanusHouse Finch
  • Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
  • Pheucticus melanocephalusBlack-headed Grosbeak
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Blessed Milk thistle

Conservation status

West Virginia rankSNA
Global rankGNR
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources