# Plant identification help **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 22, 2010, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-identification-help/529951 "2010-02-22T05:43:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-identification-help/529951/1 "2010-02-22T05:43:55Z")
Hello, So a friend of mine fell and got stung by this plant. A bunch of tiny sharp detachable spines/hairs on this thing – but we have no idea what it is. [Picture here.](http://groman.carrietech.com/plant.jpg) Anybody have any thoughts on what this thing is? Growing alongside a trail in the coastal hills around here (Northern California). Thank you, Groman ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-identification-help/529951/2 "2010-02-22T06:09:09Z")
Looks like [milk thistle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_thistle) to me. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-identification-help/529951/3 "2010-02-22T06:09:19Z")
I think it’s a milk thistle, from the white on the leaves. That’s not a US native, however, so if it’s not an imported species, it’s at least probably a close relative. ETA: Wiki says milk thistles are used in herbal medicine, so perhaps it’s possible that some imports have “escaped” in California. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-identification-help/529951/4 "2010-02-22T06:13:50Z")
[http://www.kaweahoaks.com/html/milkthistle.html](http://www.kaweahoaks.com/html/milkthistle.html) ETA: d’Oh! simulposted! ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-identification-help/529951/5 "2010-02-22T16:23:09Z")
Thank you very much. That’s it. Any advice on how to get the spines out of skin? ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-identification-help/529951/6 "2010-02-22T16:45:31Z")
nothing to add, other than to say that there was a lot of those around my house growing up, and my brother and I used to enjoy grabbing the heads off those plants and throwing them at each other. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-identification-help/529951/7 "2010-02-22T16:53:44Z")
> [@groman](#): > > Thank you very much. That’s it. > > Any advice on how to get the spines out of skin? Duct tape? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-identification-help/529951/8 "2010-02-22T18:25:04Z")
Duct tape might get the spines out, but the stinging toxins will remain. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-identification-help/529951/9 "2010-02-22T20:28:37Z")
What “stinging toxins”? I’ve never heard that milk thistle (or other thistles, for that matter) have any deleterious properties associated with coming into contact with the plant apart from the unpleasantness of mechanical piercing of the skin, or maybe contact dermatitis in susceptible individuals. They don’t act like stinging nettles. [There may be some value](http://www.stevenfoster.com/education/monograph/milkthistle.html) in milk thistle preparations taken internally for signs/symptoms of liver toxicity, though a lot of the evidence is either anecdotal or comes from preliminary scientific studies.