A. arvensis
         C. segetum
         C. spinosum
         P. dysenterica
         S. asper
         T. hybridum
         T. porrifolius

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Unless otherwise noted, all pictures on this site were taken in Pelion, Greece, shown on the map below.

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View images of the Common Toad, an ugly, bulky, but really sweet creature with an interesting... nightlife.

  Veggie of the Month

Learn about the Salsify, a beautiful plant, with edible and medicinal properties, that is currently blooming in Pelion.

  Cool Destination

Visit Mourtias, one of Pelion's most picturesque beaches on the Aegean coast.

  Exciting Site

Tour the Volos Archaeological Museum, a pretty century-old building, whose exhibits span a historical period of over 10 millennia!

  Month's Wallpaper

Download a fantastic picture of a rickety jetty in Lefokastron, Pelion, taken by Huw Jones.

Loading image. Please wait Prickly Sow-Thistle (Sonchus asper) :: Horton :: 2008/04/29 :: © A.Papadopoulos Prickly Sow-Thistle (Sonchus asper) :: Horton :: 2008/04/29 :: © A.Papadopoulos Prickly Sow-Thistle (Sonchus asper) :: Horton :: 2008/04/29 :: © A.Papadopoulos Prickly Sow-Thistle (Sonchus asper) :: Horton :: 2008/04/29 :: © A.Papadopoulos Prickly Sow-Thistle (Sonchus asper) :: Horton :: 2008/04/29 :: © A.Papadopoulos Prickly Sow-Thistle (Sonchus asper) :: Horton :: 2001/09/01 :: © A.Papadopoulos

Prickly Sow-Thistle

Sonchus asper

The Prickly Sow-Thistle is a short to tall, greyish annual, usually to 1.5m (5ft), though I have often seen plants growing in excess to 2m (6 1/2 ft). Leaves are elliptical to  lanceolate, thin, with a soft spiny margin, the upper leaves clasping the stem with rounded basal lobes. Flower heads are golden-yellow, 20 to 25mm (4/5 - 1in), borne in lax clusters.

It is a common weed throughout the Greece and most frequently occurs on roadsides, cultivated, waste and fallow ground, field margins, meadows, olive groves, vineyards, ditches, and neglected areas. It often appears in pastures and crops, however it rarely causes significant problems, as it is readily grazed in pasture and out-competed by most crops.

The Prickly Sow-Thistle is spread entirely by seed. Seeds, which are, on average, 3 by 2 mm (~1/10 in), are equipped with a small parachute of hairs that can carry them over large distances in strong winds. Seeds lying on the ground may also be transported in moving water. I guess these must be very successful methods, as they seem to be everywhere. I have even seen them growing out of cracks in the pavement, outside my apartment in Athens.

According to "Plants for a Future", tender young leaves and stem tops can be eaten, raw or cooked. They can be added to salads or used like spinach. Young leaves have a mild agreeable flavour. Stems should be bruised and the bitter-tasting milky juice washed out before eating or cooking. Stems have been peeled and eaten raw, like celery. The same source states that the plant can be pounded and applied as a  poultice to wounds and boils.

"Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases" add that the plant is an  emollient and it is used to treat boils, warts and wounds.

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Fact Sheet

Type of plant
Short to tall, greyish annual.

Flowering Season
February - October.

Known Hazards
None known.

Known Uses
Leaves and shoots are edible, raw or cooked. Plant can be pounded and applied as a poultice to wounds, warts and boils. "Plants for a Future" rate it 2 out of 5 for edibility and 1 out of 5 for medicinal uses (min. 0, max. 5).

Habitat
Grows practically everywhere; prefers cultivated, waste and fallow ground, field margins, meadows, roadsides, olive groves, vineyards, ditches, etc.

Distribution
All Mediterranean countries; naturalized in most parts of the world.

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Taxonomy


Kingdom: Plantae (Plants); Subkingdom: Tracheobionta (Vascular plants); Superdivision: Spermatophyta (Seed plants); Division: Magnoliophyta (Flowering plants); Class: Magnoliopsida (Dicotyledons); Subclass: Asteridae; Order: Asterales; Family: Compositae or Asteraceae (Daisy or Sunflower family); Genus: Sonchus; Species: asper

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Acknowledgments

The following sources have been used in preparing this page:

• BLAMEY, M., GREY-WILSON, C. 1993. Collins Guide to the Mediterranean Wild Flowers. Domino Books, Jersey. (See detailed review)
• "Plants for a Future"
• "Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases"

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