Sonchus tenerrimus

Slender sow thistle

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Slender sow thistle is a naturalized annual to perennial herb found in the Central Valley, southern California Coast, Channel Islands, and Peninsular Ranges in disturbed sites at elevations generally below 500 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces pale yellow to white flowers in delicate, stalked heads 10 to 12 millimeters long. Growing with slender, much-branched stems 10 to 80 centimeters tall, it spreads readily in open areas. Its leaves are deeply lobed with linear to triangular segments, often with secondary lobes, and range from basal clasping forms to cauline leaves 3 to 20 centimeters long. The fruit is red-brown, 2.5 to 3.5 millimeters long with roughened ribs and a pappus nearly twice the fruit's length.

Habitat: Uncommon. Disturbed sites

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: generally <= 500 m

Bioregions: GV, SCo, ChI, PR

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