Irish wildflowers BSBI map

Smooth Sow-thistle, Sonchus oleraceus, Bleachtán mín
Photographs: Co. Cork

Smooth Sow-thistle
Sonchus oleraceus
Bleachtán mín
Family: Asteraceae

Flowering: June-October. Annual, occasionally biennial. Native.

Numerous pale yellow flowers, followed by seedheads with unbranched hairs. Bluish-green, wavy-edged leaves clasp the stem and are more/less lobed with pointed bases. The hollow stems are filled with a milky-white latex. Variable, height 20-150 cm.

Very common on arable land, waste ground, roadsides and in gardens.

Similar: Prickly Sow-thistle, Sonchus asper

Smooth Sow-thistle, Sonchus oleraceus, Bleachtán mín

Smooth Sow-thistle, Sonchus oleraceus, Bleachtán mín
Smooth Sow-thistle, Sonchus oleraceus, Bleachtán mín

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