HerbWildAnnual

Sonchus asper (L.) Hill.

Kandiyali dodhak

Synonym: Sonchus oleraceus var. asper L

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Description

Sonchus asper is an annual or biennial herb, usually 30–150 cm tall, producing abundant white milky latex. Stems are erect, hollow, smooth, and branched above. Leaves are thick, glossy green, oblong to lanceolate, with stiff prickly teeth along the margins and rounded clasping auricles that surround the stem. Flower heads are bright yellow and arranged in loose terminal clusters. Fruits are flattened brown achenes with several ribs and a white pappus.

Diagnostic Characters

Vegetative

Thick glossy leaves with stiff spiny margins and rounded clasping auricles.

Floral

Bright yellow ligulate flower heads.

Fruit & Seed

Flattened ribbed achenes with a white pappus.

Distribution

Native range: Europe, North Africa, and western Asia.

Introduced range: Widely naturalized worldwide.

In Pakistan: Common throughout Pakistan in cultivated land, gardens, roadsides, and waste places.

Phenology

Flowering

Fruiting

Flowering: February–October Fruiting: March–November

Ethnobotany & Uses

Uses

Young leaves are edible when cooked and are used as a leafy vegetable in some regions. Traditionally used as a mild diuretic and for treating digestive disorders. Serves as forage for livestock but is also considered a common agricultural weed.

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Where it grows on campus

This species is on the campus floristic list but was not pinned during the GPS mapping survey, so it has no map records yet.

Taxonomic Notes

Sonchus asper, commonly known as Spiny Sow Thistle, is distinguished from S. oleraceus by its thicker glossy leaves with stiff prickly margins and rounded stem-clasping auricles. The species is recognized as an accepted taxon in Flora of Pakistan, Plants of the World Online (POWO), and World Flora Online (WFO).