Are Echinacea Purple and Milk Thistle in the same botanical family?

Yes — both belong to Asteraceae.

Can you substitute Echinacea Purple for Milk Thistle?

They share the Asteraceae family, so they can sometimes substitute in recipes — with notable differences in aroma.

Compare · per-herb profile

Echinacea Purple vs Milk Thistle

Echinacea purpurea · Silybum marianum

Echinacea Purple

Echinacea purpurea

C Limited Evidence

Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Echinacea
Primary use: medicinal

Echinacea purpurea, the eastern purple coneflower, purple coneflower, hedgehog coneflower, or Echinacea, is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to parts of eastern North America and present to some extent in the wild in much of the e…

Milk Thistle

Silybum marianum

B Some Evidence

Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Silybum
Primary use: medicinal

Silybum marianum is a species of thistle. It has various common names including milk thistle, blessed milkthistle, Marian thistle, Mary thistle, Saint Mary's thistle, Mediterranean milk thistle, variegated thistle and Scotch thistle. This species is an annual or biennial plant of…

At a glance

· Both in Asteraceae, but different genera (Echinacea vs Silybum).
· Both are primarily medicinal.
· Evidence tiers — Echinacea Purple: C; Milk Thistle: B.