Sonchus asper

Sonchus asper, the prickly sow-thistle,[2] rough milk thistle,[3] spiny sowthistle,[4] sharp-fringed sow thistle, or spiny-leaved sow thistle, is a widespread plant in the dandelion tribe within the daisy family.

Sonchus asper
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Cichorieae
Genus: Sonchus
Species:
S. asper
Binomial name
Sonchus asper
(L.) Hill 1769
Synonyms[1]

Description

Sonchus asper is an annual or biennial herb sometimes reaching a height of 200 cm. with spiny leaves and yellow flowers resembling those of the dandelion. The leaves are bluish-green, simple, lanceolate, with wavy and sometimes lobed margins, covered in spines on both the margins and beneath. The base of the leaf surrounds the stem. The leaves and stems emit a milky sap when cut. One plant will produce several flat-topped arrays of flower heads, each head containing numerous yellow ray flowers but no disc flowers.[5][6]

Distribution

Sonchus asper is native to Europe, North Africa, and western Asia. It has also become naturalized on other continents and is regarded as a noxious, invasive weed in many places. Its edible leaves make a palatable and nutritious leaf vegetable.[7][8][9][10][11]

It is found in cultivated soil, pastures, roadsides, edges of yards, vacant lots, construction sites, waste areas and in grasslands.[12]

References
  1. The Plant List, Sonchus asper (L.) Hill
  2. "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-01-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. USDA GRIN Taxonomy
  4. "Sonchus asper". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  5. Flora of North America, Sonchus asper (Linnaeus) Hill, 1769. Spiny-leaf sow-thistle, laiteron rude
  6. Flora of China, Sonchus asper (Linnaeus) Hill, 1769. 花叶滇苦菜 hua ye dian ku cai
  7. Altervista Flora Italiana, Sonchus asper (L.) Hill includes photos and European distribution map
  8. De la Barra, N. 1997. Reconstrucción y Evolución del Paisaje Vegetal Autóctono de la Zona Urbana y Peri-urbana de la Ciudad de Cochabamba i–v, 1–174. Tesis, Universidad Mayor San Simón, Cochabamba
  9. Marticorena, C. & M. Quezada. 1985. Catálogo de la Flora Vascular de Chile. Gayana, Botany 42: 1–157
  10. Humbert, H. 1923. Les Composées de Madagascar. Mémoires de la Société Linnéenne de Normandie 25: 1–335.
  11. Atlas of Living Australia
  12. Sonchus oleraceus L. by iewf.org
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