Sonchus oleraceus (common sowthistle)
Identity
- Preferred Scientific Name
- Sonchus oleraceus L.
- Preferred Common Name
- common sowthistle
- Other Scientific Names
- Sonchus angustissimus Hook.f.
- Sonchus australis Hort. ex Trev.
- Sonchus ciliatus Lamarck
- Sonchus fabrae Sennen
- Sonchus gracilis Phil.
- Sonchus jacinthoides DC.
- Sonchus lacerus. Willd.
- Sonchus laevis Vill.
- Sonchus laevis camer ex Sch.Bip
- Sonchus longifolius Trevir
- Sonchus pallescens Panc.
- Sonchus parviflorus Lej.
- Sonchus reversus E.Mey. ex DC
- Sonchus rivularis Phil.
- Sonchus roseus Besser ex Spreng
- Sonchus royleanus DC.
- Sonchus schimperi A.Braun & Bouch
- Sonchus schmidianus K.Koch
- Sonchus spinulifoius Sennen
- Sonchus subbipinnatifidus (Guss.) Zenari
- Sonchus sundaicus Blume
- Sonchus umbellifer Thunb.
- Sonchus zacinthoides DC.
- International Common Names
- Englishannual sowthistlecolewortfield sow-thistlehare’s lettucehare’s thistlemilk thistlesmall sow thistlesmooth sowthistlesow thistlesowthistle
- Spanishborrajacerraja comunchinitaenvidialechecinolechugillamuela de caballo
- Frenchlaiteron lisselaiteron maraicher
- Chineseku gu cai
- Portugueseserralha-lisaserralha-macia
- Local Common Names
- borrajacolmillo de leonserrajaserrajilla
- Brazilchicória-bravalaiteron potagerserradela-branca
- Canadalaiteron commum
- Chilenirhue
- Cubaalgodoncillocerrajacerraja lechosa
- Dominican Republicachicoriaborrajaborraja moradachicorialechuguillo
- GermanyGewoehnliche GaensedistelKohl-Gänsedistel
- Haitichicorée marrón
- Italycicerbitacrespignacrespino lisciosonco
- Japanharunonogeshinogeshi
- Lesser Antillesbouton blancherbe à lapinlaitue
- Mexicoachicoria dulceborrajillacardoendiviafalso diente de leónmitihuaracamuela de caballo
- Moroccooulden-en-mahja
- Netherlandsgewone Melkdistel
- Puerto Ricoachicoriaachicoria silvestre
- Russian Federationosot ogorodny
- Saudi Arabiakuwwaysh
- Swedenmjoelktistel
- EPPO code
- SONOL (Sonchus oleraceus)
Pictures
Leaves
S. oleraceus plantule with five proper leaves. Leaves have small, soft teeth, with two pointed auricles at the limb base.
C. Chirila
Line art
Sonchus oleraceus; Seedling.
NOVARTIS
Growth habit
Left, upper part of stem before flowering, showing leaves with pointed auricles; right, mature S. oleraceus plant on the edge of a maize crop.
C. Chirila
Flowers and leaves
Leaves large, alternate, soft, glabrous and dull-green, with violet shades in autumn. 20-50 flower-heads, each containing 80-250 yellow flowers which are longer than the involucre. Thistledown is white and persistent.
NOVARTIS
Root growth stages
Roots in different stages of plant growth. Roots are upright with many branches, especially near the soil surface.
C. Chirila
Leaf - line drawing
S. oleraceus leaf, green, greasy to touch and smooth.
NOVARTIS
Fruit - line drawing
S. oleraceus fruit (4x natural size, transverse section 8x).
NOVARTIS
Sonchus oleraceus
Chris Evans, River to River Cooperative Weed Management Area, bugwood.org
Refer to Bugwood: http://www.bugwood.org/ImageUsage.html
Sonchus oleraceus
Chris Evans, River to River Cooperative Weed Management Area, bugwood.org
Refer to Bugwood: http://www.bugwood.org/ImageUsage.html
Sonchus oleraceus
Chris Evans, River to River Cooperative Weed Management Area, bugwood.org
Refer to Bugwood: http://www.bugwood.org/ImageUsage.html
Distribution
Host Plants and Other Plants Affected
Prevention and Control
Prevention
Eradication of S. oleraceus plants from ruderal spots close to farm crops before flowering will prevent the achene spreading by means of wind. Cultivated plant seeds must be clean and of a good quality, and seeding must ensure optimum plant density. Crop rotations must be complied with, as well as suitable timing for summer and autumn ploughing. Hoeing must be carried out as often as needed, so that sow-thistle plants do not reach the flowering stage.
Eradication of S. oleraceus plants from ruderal spots close to farm crops before flowering will prevent the achene spreading by means of wind. Cultivated plant seeds must be clean and of a good quality, and seeding must ensure optimum plant density. Crop rotations must be complied with, as well as suitable timing for summer and autumn ploughing. Hoeing must be carried out as often as needed, so that sow-thistle plants do not reach the flowering stage.
Physical/Mechanical Control
Young plants are easy to pull out and the tap roots will come with them, but as the plants get older and more firmly rooted, they cannot be pulled out without breaking off the stems, which will then regrow.
Plants which are cut off above soil level recover quickly. Hutchinson et al. (1984) recommended repeated autumn tillage in milder Canadian climates, or in spring after spring emergence of seedlings. Plants do not regrow from root fragments. However, deep burial of the seeds prolongs their survival.
Plants which are cut off above soil level recover quickly. Hutchinson et al. (1984) recommended repeated autumn tillage in milder Canadian climates, or in spring after spring emergence of seedlings. Plants do not regrow from root fragments. However, deep burial of the seeds prolongs their survival.
Biological Control
CSIRO (2007) in Australia has been exploring the possibility of biological control of this weed and has so far identified a rust fungus Miyagia pseudosphaeria, Aceria thalgi and the potential mycoherbicide pathogen, Aschochyta sonchi. The possibility of biological control had apparently been explored earlier in Canada (ISSG, 2014)
Chemical Control
Due to the variable regulations around (de-)registration of pesticides, we are for the moment not including any specific chemical control recommendations. For further information, we recommend you visit the following resources:
•
EU pesticides database (http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/pesticides/eu-pesticides-database/)
•
PAN pesticide database (www.pesticideinfo.org)
•
Your national pesticide guide
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © CABI. CABI is a registered EU trademark. This article is published under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
History
Published online: 4 October 2022
Language
English
Authors
Metrics & Citations
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