Pixel Wild
Common Sow-thistle
Common Sow-thistle
Sonchus oleraceus
Plantae
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
Annual
Size
Medium
Diet
Photosynthetic
Biome
Temperate grassland
Range
Eurasia
Movement
Sessile
Breeding
Seeds
Defense
Spines
Status
Common

About

This hardy plant is a favorite snack for farm animals like pigs, who love to munch on its soft, jagged leaves and milky sap. It is easily spotted by its bright yellow flowers that eventually turn into fluffy white seeds ready to float away on the breeze.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    seed
    A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
  2. 2.
    sprout
    A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
  3. 3.
    sapling
    A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
  4. 4.
    mature
    Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Order
Asterales
Family
Asteraceae
Genus
Sonchus
Species
Sonchus oleraceus