Sonchus L. >
Cypselas brown, with narrow wings or not winged. Involucres 5–6 mm diam. Sonchus
Leaves soft, thin, basal and cauline, pinnatifid, irregularly toothed, up to 20 cm long. Heads 5–6 mm diam. Cypselas wrinkled, winged, scabrous on the margins. Annual herb up to 2 m high, glabrous or glandular hairy towards the summit. Widespread. Weed of cultivation and waste places. Introd. from Europe. Fl. most of the year. Common Sowthistle or Milk Thistle Sonchus oleraceus