Corn Sow-thistle
Corn Sow-thistle between marsh and road
Slightly raggedy flower
Ray and disc florets
Yellow hairs on sepals
Softly toothed, unlobed, upper leaf
Rounded leaf auricle - greyish underside
Lobed, lower leaves
Sonchus arvensis
Asteraceae
Perennial Sow-thistle, Field Milk-thistle
July to October
It is found throughout the ountry.
See the BSBI distribution map for Corn Sow-thistle
It grows by roads, paths, rivers and ditches, on sea-walls,
the upper parts of beaches and saltmarshes, and as a
weed of arable and disturbed waste ground.
Corn Sow-thistle is a creeping, perennial herb growing
up to 1.5 m
and forming quite large, eye-catching patches.
The flowers are up to 6cm across, deep yellow, showy
and raggedy.
The flower buds (sepals) and upper parts of the stems
are covered in distinctive, sticky, yellow hairs.
Viewed from above, the unlobed upper leaves clasp
the stem rather like Smooth Sow-thistle.
Viewed from below the leaves are greyish with round
auricles rather like Prickly Sow-thistle - but the auricles
are less obvious.
The lower leaves have tooth-shaped lobes.
Leaves and stems are softly toothed.
Previous page: Corn Mint
Next page: Cornish Bellflower
Corn Sow-thistle between marsh and road
Slightly raggedy flower
Ray and disc florets
Yellow hairs on sepals
Softly toothed, unlobed, upper leaf
Rounded leaf auricle - greyish underside
Lobed, lower leaves
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