Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Perennial Sow Thistle
Sonchus arvensis
Aster family (Asteraceae)

Sow Thistle spreads quickly from horizontal roots and provides abundant forage for many small mammals. There are numerous flowerheads per plant, but just a few flowers are open at any given time. Stems are hollow and have a bitter milky juice, but the plant has been eaten since Greek and Roman times. The young were (and still are in Europe) eaten in salads. Very young leaves are eaten like spinach. "Sonchus" is the ancient Greek name for this plant. "Arvensis" means "of the fields."


©2003-2014 John Hilty, Illinois Wildflowers

Description

plants with horizontal, spreading rootstocks. Stems to 3' tall, less leafy upward on stem. Lower leaves , spiny, upper leaves or unlobed, . Flowerheads in clusters. only. to 1/10" high, . an 1/10" long with longitudinal and a tuft of hair at the tip.

Field Marks

Tall, slender plant topped with 20 or so golden yellow, dandelion-like flowers.

© Al Schneider

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.

pinnatifid -- A leaf shape that is pinnately lobed but not cut all the way to the axis.

lobe -- A rounded parts of a leaf (or other organ).

ribbed -- having prominent, narrow parallel protrusions that extend over most of its length or circumference.

ray flowers -- The outer petals of a sunflower or daisy are ray flowers.

Involucre is the name given to the circle or spiral collection of bracts around a flower-cluster.

Glands are plant structures that secrete liquids, salts or other substances. Glands often appear as hairs with a drop of liquid at the end.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

basal leaves -- a leaf that grows lowest on the stem of a plant.

glabrous -- smooth, glossy, having no bristles or hair-like structures. Bald.

achene -- a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. For example, a rose hip holds a few achenes.