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Slender sowthistle

Sonchus tenerrimus

Also called Slender Sow Thistle, Clammy Sowthistle, Clammy Sow Thistle, Sow Thistle

Slender sowthistle
Photo: Victor M. Vicente Selvas, CC BY-SA 3.0

Slender sowthistle is a small annual or short-lived perennial weed in the daisy family, native to the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East, now naturalized elsewhere. It is grown or noticed mainly as a wild weed rather than a cultivated garden plant.

Family
Asteraceae (Daisy family)
Grows as
Annual, Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Water when the top of the soil is dry; it tolerates some dryness once established.
Soil
Average, well-drained soil; tolerates poor and disturbed ground.
Temperature
10–30 °C; protect from frost.
How easy
Easy
Native range
Macaronesia, Mauritania, Medit. to W. Himalaya, Arabian Pen., NE. Trop. Africa
Climate
subtropical

About

Sonchus tenerrimus is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name slender sowthistle. It is native to the Mediterranean region of southern Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East. It has been found as well in several other locations around the world, historically in association with ship ballast in coastal regions. It has become naturalized in a few places, such as California in the United States and Baja California in Mexico.

Sonchus tenerrimus is an annual or perennial herb producing a slender, branching stem up to about 80 centimeters (32 inches) tall. The leaves are deeply divided into many variously shaped lobes which may have toothed edges or smaller lobes. The inflorescence bears flower heads lined with glandular, hairy to woolly phyllaries. They are filled with numerous yellow ray florets but no disc florets.

Other Sonchus plants

Field sowthistle · Spiny sowthistle · Common sowthistle · Sowthistle

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sonchus tenerrimus 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.

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