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Species
Sonchus
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records:315
Specimens with Sequences:345
Specimens with Barcodes:251
Species:51
Species With Barcodes:50
Public Records:222
Public Species:48
Public BINs:0
Sonchus is a genus of flowering plants in the dandelion tribe within the sunflower family.[3][4]
Most of the species are annual herbs, a few are perennial, and a few are even woody (subgenus Dendrosonchus, restricted to the Canary Islands)[5][6][7][8][9]
Annual herbs in the genus are known as sow thistles (less commonly hare thistles or hare lettuces). The genus is named after the Ancient Greek for such plants. All are characterized by soft, somewhat irregularly lobed leaves that clasp the stem and, at least initially, form a basal rosette. The stem contains a milky latex. Flower heads are yellow and range in size from half to one inch in diameter; the florets are all of ray type. Sow thistles are common roadside plants, and while native to Eurasia and tropical Africa, they are found almost worldwide in temperate regions.[10]
Mature sow thistle stems can range from 30 cm to 2 m (1 to 6 feet) tall, depending upon species and growing conditions. Colouration ranges from green to purple in older plants. Sow thistles exude a milky latex when any part of the plant is cut or damaged, and it is from this fact that the plants obtained the common name, "sow thistle", as they were fed to lactating sows in the belief that milk production would increase. Sow thistles are known as "milk thistles" in some regions, although true milk thistles belong to the genus Silybum.
Sow thistles have been used as fodder, particularly for rabbits, hence the other common names of "hare thistle" or "hare lettuce". They are also edible to humans as a leaf vegetable; old leaves and stalks can be bitter but young leaves have a flavour similar to lettuce. Going by the name puha or rareke (raraki) it is frequently eaten in New Zealand as a vegetable, particularly by the native Māori. When cooked the flavour is reminiscent of chard.
In many areas sow thistles are considered noxious weeds,[11] as they grow quickly in a wide range of conditions and their wind-borne seeds allow them to spread rapidly. Sonchus arvensis, the perennial sow thistle, is considered the most economically detrimental, as it can crowd commercial crops, is a heavy consumer of nitrogen in soils, may deplete soil water of land left to fallow, and can regrow and sprout additional plants from its creeping roots. However, sow thistles are easily uprooted by hand, and their soft stems present little resistance to slashing or mowing. Most livestock will readily devour sow thistle in preference to grass, and this lettuce-relative is edible and nutritious to humans — in fact this is the meaning of the second part of the Latin name, oleraceus.[1] Attempts at weed control by herbicidal use, to the neglect of other methods, may have led to a proliferation of this species in some environments.[12] In traditional medicine, the plant has medicinal qualities, having "nearly the same properties as dandelion and succory".[13]
Sow thistles are common host plants for aphids. Gardeners may consider this a benefit or a curse; aphids may spread from sow thistle to other plants, but alternatively the sow thistle can encourage the growth of beneficial predators such as hoverflies. In this regard sow thistles make excellent sacrificial plants. Sonchus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera including Celypha rufana and the broad-barred white, grey chi, nutmeg, and shark moths . The fly Tephritis formosa is known to attack the capitula of this plant.[14]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sonchus. |
- Species[1]
- Sonchus acaulis
- Sonchus adscendens
- Sonchus afromontanus
- Sonchus agrestis
- Sonchus amboinensis
- Sonchus andrenarum
- Sonchus angulatus
- Sonchus aquatilis
- Sonchus araraticus
- Sonchus arboreus
- Sonchus arvensis - field or perennial sow thistle
- Sonchus asper - spiny sow thistle
- Sonchus bipontini
- Sonchus bornmuelleri
- Sonchus bourgeaui
- Sonchus brachylobus
- Sonchus brachylobus
- Sonchus brachyotus
- Sonchus brasiliensis
- Sonchus briquetianus
- Sonchus bupleuroides
- Sonchus camporum
- Sonchus canariensis
- Sonchus capensis
- Sonchus capillaris
- Sonchus cavanillesianus
- Sonchus cavanillesii
- Sonchus congestus
- Sonchus crassifolius
- Sonchus crepioides
- Sonchus crispus
- Sonchus daltonii
- Sonchus denticulato-lanceolata
- Sonchus denticulato-platyphylla
- Sonchus diffusus
- Sonchus dregeanus
- Sonchus dulosus
- Sonchus elongatus
- Sonchus eriopus
- Sonchus erythraeae
- Sonchus erythropappus
- Sonchus erzincanicus
- Sonchus esperanzae
- Sonchus fauces-orci
- Sonchus fragilis
- Sonchus friesii
- Sonchus fruticosus
- Sonchus gandogeri
- Sonchus gibbosus
- Sonchus gigas
- Sonchus gomerensis
- Sonchus gramineus
- Sonchus grandifolius
- Sonchus gummifer
- Sonchus haussknechtii
- Sonchus heterophyllus
- Sonchus hierrensis
- Sonchus hothae
- Sonchus hydrophilus[15]
- Sonchus hypochaeroides
- Sonchus integrifolius
- Sonchus intermedius
- Sonchus jacottetianus
- Sonchus jainii
- Sonchus kirkii - puha or rauriki
- Sonchus laciniatus
- Sonchus laevis
- Sonchus leptocephalus
- Sonchus lidii
- Sonchus lingianus
- Sonchus littoralis
- Sonchus luxurians
- Sonchus macrocarpus
- Sonchus maculigerus
- Sonchus malayanus
- Sonchus maritimus
- Sonchus masguindalii
- Sonchus mauritanicus
- Sonchus megalocarpa
- Sonchus melanolepis
- Sonchus microcarpus
- Sonchus microcephalus
- Sonchus monanthus
- Sonchus nanus
- Sonchus neglectus
- Sonchus nigricans
- Sonchus novae-zelandiae
- Sonchus novocastellanus
- Sonchus obtusilobus
- Sonchus obtusilobus
- Sonchus occidentalis
- Sonchus oleraceus - common sow thistle
- Sonchus ortunoi
- Sonchus oxyspermus
- Sonchus palmensis
- Sonchus palustris - marsh sowthistle
- Sonchus pendulus
- Sonchus pensylvanicus
- Sonchus perfoliatus
- Sonchus pinnatifidus
- Sonchus pinnatus
- Sonchus pitardii
- Sonchus platylepis
- Sonchus prudhommei
- Sonchus pustulatus
- Sonchus radicatus
- Sonchus regis-jubae
- Sonchus rokosensis
- Sonchus roseus
- Sonchus rotundilobus
- Sonchus saudensis
- Sonchus schweinfurthii
- Sonchus setosus
- Sonchus sosnowskyi
- Sonchus spinosus
- Sonchus stenophyllus
- Sonchus subacaulis
- Sonchus suberosus
- Sonchus sventenii
- Sonchus tectifolius
- Sonchus tenax
- Sonchus tenerrimus[15]
- Sonchus tigridus
- Sonchus toletanus
- Sonchus transcaspicus
- Sonchus tuberifer
- Sonchus ustulatus
- Sonchus vaginatus
- Sonchus wightianus
- Sonchus webbii
- Sonchus wildpretii
- Sonchus wilmsii - milk thistle
- Sonchus yendoi
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist
- ^ lectotype designated by N. L. Britton et A. Brown, Ill. Fl. N.U.S. ed. 2. 3: 316 (1913)
- ^ a b Tropicos, Sonchus L.
- ^ Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 2: 793-795 in Latin
- ^ For a recent review of woody species, see Seung-Chul Kim et al (1996), A common origin for woody Sonchus and five related genera in the Macaronesian islands: Molecular evidence for extensive radiation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 93:7743-7748.
- ^ Flora of China Vol. 20-21 Page 239 苦苣菜属 ku ju cai shu Sonchus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 793. 1753.
- ^ Altervista Flora Italiana genere Sonchus photos and distribution maps for several species
- ^ Atlas of Living Australia
- ^ Flora Zambesiaca
- ^ Flora of North America Vol. 19, 20 and 21 Page 273 Sow-thistle, laiteron, Sonchus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 793. 1753; Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 347. 1754.
- ^ Sonchus arvensis L., USDA PLANTS
- ^ Queensland Gouvernment
- ^ A Modern Herbal by M. Grieve
- ^ White, I.M. (1984). Tephritid Flies (Diptera: Tephritidea). Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects. 10 pt 5a. Royal Entomological Society of London. pp. 134 pp. ISBN 0901546682.
- ^ a b "Sonchus". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sonchus&oldid=642139014 |
Annual, biennial or perennial herbs. Stems erect, hollow. Leaves alternate, cauline, undivided or pinnately lobed; base ± auriculate to sagittate; margin often spiny-ciliate. Phyllaries several-seriate, imbricate; outer eventually swollen at base. Receptacle naked, pitted. Florets yellow. Achenes flattened, truncate above, ± strongly ribbed; beak 0. Pappus several-seriate, dimorphic, consisting of setae and fine down-like hairs intermixed.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings, Flora of Zimbabwe |
Source | http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=1578 |
Foodplant / feeds on
larva of Cheilosia vernalis feeds on stem of Sonchus
Remarks: Other: uncertain
In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Foodplant / miner
larva of Chromatomyia syngenesiae mines leaf of Sonchus
Foodplant / parasite
subepidermal telium of Coleosporium tussilaginis parasitises live Sonchus
Other: minor host/prey
Foodplant / gall
larva of Cystiphora sonchi causes gall of leaf of Sonchus
Animal / pathogen
Rhizoctonia anamorph of Helicobasidium purpureum infects root of Sonchus
Foodplant / miner
often communal larva of Liriomyza sonchi mines leaf of Sonchus
Other: sole host/prey
Foodplant / parasite
telium of Miyagia pseudosphaeria parasitises live stem of Sonchus
Foodplant / miner
larva of Ophiomyia beckeri mines leaf (midrib, lamina) of Sonchus
Plant / resting place / within
puparium of Ophiomyia cunctata may be found in leaf (base of midrib) of Sonchus
Plant / resting place / within
puparium of Ophiomyia pulicaria may be found in leaf (petiole at base) of Sonchus
Foodplant / miner
larva of Phytomyza marginella mines leaf of Sonchus
Foodplant / spot causer
Ramularia anamorph of Spermosporina sonchi-oleracei causes spots on live leaf of Sonchus
Foodplant / gall
larva of Tephritis dilacerata causes gall of inflorescence of Sonchus
Foodplant / miner
larva of Trypeta immaculata mines leaf of Sonchus
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | BioImages, BioImages - the Virtual Fieldguide (UK) |
Source | http://www.bioimages.org.uk/html/Sonchus.htm |