Silybum Marianum

Biennial herb 0.3–2 m high; stems ribbed, sparsely villous, emerging from a rosette of leaves.

Corolla blue-violet, tube filiform, 22–25 mm long, lobes 7–9 mm long, erect.

Achenes brown with black streaks, obovoid, 6–7 mm long, slightly compressed; pappus 15–22 mm long, connate into a basal ring and falling as a unit.