Silybum marianum

Ray has previously reviewed in this venue much of the avialable information pertinent to Mary's milk thistle (Silybum marianum). Yet a thistle as interesting as Mary's may deserve annual commentary. That's because Mary's milk thistle probably features the biggest basal rosette of any weed in these parts, native or introduced.




















Check this out. Those are size 8 1/2 New Balance trainers sticking out from under those overall legs. Yet the main feature of this picture is a gigantic, variegated weed. Yes. It is a huge Mary's milk thistle. How much milk went onto that weed? Goodness!

You know. Try as he might, Crumby can never take a picture of a Mary's milk thistle that is safe to stare at for more that a fleeting instant or two. It's always the same. That variegated leaf pattern depicted in the picture is nauseating. Mercy!

Considered ecologically, Mary's milk thistle is early successional. That is, the best ones tend to emerge on bare ground. That's what happened here. Last summer the ground this thistle now resides on got dozer scraped. And now it's thistle habitat.

Probably, this particular Mary's milk thistle is at The End of the Trail, much like that old Indian in the picture. Yes sadly, the Stinky Valley enviro-cops shall mow it to death before it can seed out. Dum-duh-dum. Duddle-duddle-dum-dum. And that might be OK, a victory against the spread of Eurasian weeds, but for the fact that billions of other, much nastier, but less conspicuous Eurasian weeds shall grow, prosper and reproduce as the mow happy, mow happily, mow and mow, Moe. Dum-duh-dum. Duddle-duddle-dum-dum.

Guess what! Mowing makes the climate hotter. Makes it mo' hotter, I tell you.