Sonchus arvensis

Sonchus arvensis, the field milk thistle,[2] field sowthistle,[3] perennial sow-thistle,[4] corn sow thistle, dindle, gutweed, swine thistle, or tree sow thistle, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. S. arvensis often occurs in annual crop fields and may cause substantial yield losses.[5]

Sonchus arvensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Cichorieae
Genus: Sonchus
Species:
S. arvensis
Binomial name
Sonchus arvensis
L. 1753
Synonyms[1]

Description

The plant grows up to 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) in height,[6]:744 with leaves 10–35 cm (4–13 3⁄4 in) long and 4–14 cm (1 1⁄2–5 1⁄2 in) wide.[7] It produces conspicuous yellow flowerheads about 3–5 cm (1 1⁄4–2 in) wide,[7] which are visited by various types of insects—especially hoverflies of the genus Eristalis.[8]

Distribution

Sonchus arvensis is native to Europe, where it is widespread across most of the continent.[9] It has also become naturalized in many other regions, and is considered an invasive noxious weed in some places, such as North America (including Prince Edward Island),[10] Russia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Australia.[11][12][13]

It grows in areas such as pastures, roadsides, bushlands and the shorelines of lakes, rivers[14] and sea coast.[15]

Uses

The young leaves, when less than a few inches long and not bitter in taste, can be mixed with other greens to make salad. They can also be boiled in a small quantity of water, changed once. The plant can contain toxic nitrates.[7]

  • Leaves
  • Flowerheads
  • Illustration

References
  1. The Plant List, Sonchus arvensis L.
  2. Sonchus arvensis at Plants For A Future
  3. "Sonchus arvensis". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  4. "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-01-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  5. "Sonchus arvensis (perennial sowthistle)". Invasive Species Compendium. 2019-11-19. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  6. Stace, C. A. (2019). New Flora of the British Isles (Fourth ed.). Middlewood Green, Suffolk, U.K.: C & M Floristics. ISBN 978-1-5272-2630-2.
  7. Elias, Thomas S.; Dykeman, Peter A. (2009) [1982]. Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods. New York: Sterling. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-4027-6715-9. OCLC 244766414.
  8. Van Der Kooi, C. J.; Pen, I.; Staal, M.; Stavenga, D. G.; Elzenga, J. T. M. (2015). "Competition for pollinators and intra-communal spectral dissimilarity of flowers". Plant Biology. 18 (1): 56–62. doi:10.1111/plb.12328. PMID 25754608.
  9. Altervista Flora Italiana, Sonchus arvensis L. includes photos, European distribution map
  10. Guardian, The. "'Giant dandelion' taking up space in P.E.I." The Guardian (Charlottetown). Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  11. "List of invasive species in the Great Lakes Great Lakes United / Union Saint-Laurent Grands Lacs". Archived from the original on 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  12. Davidse, G., M. Sousa-Peña, S. Knapp & F. Chiang Cabrera. 2015. Asteraceae. 5(2): ined. In G. Davidse, M. Sousa Sánchez, S. Knapp & F. Chiang Cabrera (eds.) Flora Mesoamericana. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F..
  13. Atlas of Living Australia
  14. Corn sowthistle (Sonchus arvensis) by NSW WeedWise
  15. "Sonchus arvensis". Online Atlas of the British Flora. Biological Records Centre and Botanical society of Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
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