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DESCRIPTION:
Blessed milkthistle is
a common summer annual or biennual
broadleaf. Seedlings have thick, succulent
cotyledons (seed leaves) that are oval and 3/4 to 1 inch (19 - 25
mm) long. The first true leaves are spiny and mottled white around
the
veins. Mature plants are stiff, 2 to 6 feet tall, and sparsely branched.
Lower leaves are up to 2 feet (60 cm) long, with leaf size diminishing towards
the top of the plant. Leaves are spiny and
deeply lobed with leaf bases that wrap around the stem. All leaves show a characteristic
white mottling or marbling around veins that distinguishes milkthistle from
other related weedy species
such as prickly lettuce,
annual sowthistle,
Canada thistle, and bull thistle. Flowers are
nearly spherical, reddish purple to purple, and shiny. Underlying the flowers are leaflike structures that
sport spines up to 2 inches (5 cm) long. The smooth, flat fruit are one-seeded, 1/4 inch (6 mm) long, and
shiny with several finely hooked bristles. The fruit are linked at the base and detach
as
a unit
at maturity.
Broadleaf ID illustration.
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