common sowthistle

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common sowthistle

Sonchus oleraceus

Weed Characteristics

Other Names: common sowthistle, sow-thistle, common sow-thistle, annual sowthistle, hare's thistle, hare's lettuce, hare's colewort, milk-thistle, smooth sowthistle, pualele

Leaf Type: Broadleaf

Flowers: Yellow

Leaves: Pointed, deeply lobed leaves with finely serrated edges; no hair

Life Cycle: Winter annual

Leaves are lobed with toothed edges that are prickly, forming a rosette. Leaves and stems secret a milky, sticky sap when cut. Flower stems are hairless and hollow, bolting 1' to 4' from the base. Yellow flowers are in clusters at the branched ends of stems, maturing to a puffball seedhead. Upright habit with long taproot.Native to Europe.