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Sonchus oleraceus
Also called Smooth sow-thistle, Sow Thistle, Common Sow Thistle, Annual Sow Thistle, Milk Thistle, Annual Sowthistle, Common Milk Thistle
Common sowthistle is a fast-growing annual weed of the daisy family, native to Europe and western Asia, that spreads by wind-blown seed. It grows in almost any soil in full sun and is also grown or gathered for its edible leaves.
Sonchus oleraceus is a species of flowering plant in the tribe Cichorieae of the family Asteraceae, native to Europe and Western Asia. It has many common names including common sowthistle, sow thistle, smooth sow thistle, annual sow thistle, puha (in New Zealand English, from Māori pūhā), hare's colwort, hare's thistle, milky tassel, milk thistle, and soft thistle.
The leaves are eaten as salad greens or cooked like spinach. This is one of the species used in Chinese cuisine as kŭcài (苦菜; lit. bitter vegetable). The younger leaves are less bitter and better to eat raw. Steaming can remove the bitterness of older leaves. The younger roots are also edible and can suffice as a coffee substitute.
Field sowthistle · Spiny sowthistle · Slender sowthistle · Sowthistle
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sonchus oleraceus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
