Sonchus asper subsp. asper

Prickly sow thistle, Prickly Sow Thistle

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Prickly sow thistle is a naturalized annual found throughout California in slightly moist disturbed sites and along streams at elevations below 1,900 meters. Flowering all year, this plant produces yellow flowers in heads 10 to 13 millimeters long with ligules about one-third the length of the flower tube. Growing 1 to 12 decimeters tall with mostly unbranched stems, it has a distinctive growth habit. Its leaves range from 6 to 30 centimeters long, with deeply toothed edges and soft spine-tipped margins, and lower leaves often have rounded, clasping bases that curve or coil. The fruit is straw-colored to red-brown, 2 to 3 millimeters long with pappus bristles about three times the fruit length.

Habitat: Common. Slightly moist disturbed sites, along streams

Bloom period: All year

Elevation: < 1900 m

Bioregions: CA

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.