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Prickly Sow-thistle - Sonchus asper
Short to tall plant, hairless except for a few glandular hairs on the upper stem. Stem angled, often reddening, sometimes branched to 1.2 metres. The upper leaves are shiny green and prickly they clasp the stem with rounded basal lobes. Flowerheads golden yellow, 20 to 25 mm in lax clusters, bracts without glandular hairs.
Smooth Sow-thistle
Auricles of stem-leaves rounded. Achenes not rugose. Leaves can be very similar to S oleraceus but usually more sharply toothed
Photograph of stem and leaves, showing auricles
Cultivated and waste land, roadsides.
June to August.
Annual.
Very common throughout Britain except in some parts of the Scottish Highlands.
Very common in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 583 of the 617 tetrads.
Leicestershire & Rutland Map
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MAP KEY:
Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015
UK Map
Species profile
- Common names
- Prickly Sow-thistle
- Species group:
- Wildflowers
- Kingdom:
- Plantae
- Order:
- Asterales
- Family:
- Asteraceae
- Records on NatureSpot:
- 265
- First record:
- 02/06/2006 (Calow, Graham)
- Last record:
- 04/05/2024 (Carter, Robert)
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% of records within its species group
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Cystiphora sonchi
These blisters on sowthistle leaves are galls caused by the midge Cystiphora sonchi. They are most commonly found on Smooth Sow-thistle but may also be found on Prickly and Perennial Sow-thistle.
Liriomyza sonchi
The larvae of the fly Liriomyza sonchi form large upper surface blotch mines on the leaves of sow-thistle species. Secondary feeding corridors are often present. Scattered frass can be seen in the mine. Several larvae may feed together in the mine.