The flowers and leaves look a lot like Wild Lettuce (Lactuca) or Dandelion (Taraxacum) which can lead to misidentification. 
The leaves do especially resemble Tall Lettuce (Lactuca canadensis)
Common Name: Common Sowthistle
Other Common Names: Sow Thistle, Smooth Sow Thistle, Annual Sowthistle, Hare’s Colwort, Hare’s Thistle, Milky Tassel, Milk Thistle and Soft Thistle.
Botanical Family: Asteraeae (The Aster Family)
Botanical Latin Name: Sonchus oleraceus
Description & Habitat: It has to be said that there are a lot of things called a ‘Thistle’ and that is because a number of members of the Aster Family resemble the true Thistles which are grouped in the Cirsium genus. True Milk Thistles are in the Silybum genus but are not true Thistles despite looking very similar. Common Sow Thistle is as noted above in the Sonchus genus and is a third similar looking group of plants often called ‘Thistles’ despite not being in the Cirsium genus. All of these plant genuses are in the Aster Family which just makes things even more confusing. Getting back to the plant in question, Common Sowthistle is commonly found in disturbed sites, fields, along railroads, gravel banks, in backgrounds and by the roadside. This plant despite its name is clearly a member of the aster family and its flowers resemble that of dandelion, its relative. As seen with the included pictures it’s leaves resemble one of the wild lettuces (Lactuca sp.) or a Dandelion (Taraxicum sp.) both of which are also, you guessed it; in the Aster family. The specific epithet Oleraceus means ‘vegetable/herbal’ and the name ‘sow thistle’ it’s varied forms means that it is attractive as a food item for pigs. Additionally one of the common names ‘Hare’s Thistle refers to its supposed benefit for Rabbits. Common Sowthistle is an annual plant which can get almost four feet tall and its flowers are preferred by native pollinators and it spreads exclusively by its seeds which have silky parachutes much like the seeds of Dandelions do. Common Sow Thistle is considered invasive in some places because of the large number of seeds it produces and their high germination rate and the fact that it is not native to the United States.
When & What to Harvest: It is best to harvest the leaves when they are young as they take on a bitter flavor once mature. It is best to pick when the plant is only a few inches tall as the other downside to this plant is its ability to hyper accumulate nitrates. It is noted in several credible publications that per 100 grams of leaf it has 30-40 milligrams of Vitamin C,1500mg of calcium, 500mg of phosphorous, 45.6 mg of iron, 35 mg of vitamin A, thiamine (b1), riboflavin (b2) and, niacin.
Dangerous Lookalikes: None that I know of.
Related Useful Species: (Wild)
A well-documented relative is Sow Thistle (Sonchus arvensis) which is edible in the same way as Common Sowthistle
Recipe: This wild plant can be used in forage salads especially if mixed with other more bland flavored wild leaf greens. A good salad recipe is to combine the Common Sow Thistle leaves with Carrots, Cucumbers, Onions, and Tomato slices and douse it with a good Italian dressing and some Feta cheese that has been crumbled. Older leaf greens can have their bitterness neutralized if the greens are steamed. There are a surprisingly large number of recipes for this plant’s leaf greens online, just google “recipes for Sonchus oleraceaus”.
Additional Information: (If applicable)
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/sonchus/
With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog. In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.
For those of you wondering what plants are going to be at the market this weekend here is the list.
Fresh Foods:
Soup Kit – Parsnip
Soup Kit – Turnip
Garlic Bulbs
Soil Amendment Products:
Live Mushroom Compost – 18 Gallon Tote*
Live Mushroom Compost – 3 Gallon Bag
Live Mushroom Compost – 1 Gallon Bag
Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Lion’s Mane Tincture Sample size (New!)
Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Lion’s Mane Tincture
Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Turkey Tail Tincture
Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Blue Oyster Mushroom Grow Kit (New!)
Garden Plants, Fall Foods:
Arugula, Astro
Cabbage, Pac Choi ‘Rosie’
Collards, Green Glaze
Kale, Prizm
Kale, Redbor
Sorrel, Raspberry Dressing
Coming Soon:
The house plants are coming.
*The 18 gallon tote is by special order only and is delivered to any address within the Fayetteville city area.
How to stay in Contact with Us!
Our group’s online presence has migrated to Nextdoor.com. All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.
Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville
Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:
The Videos: Look Here
>Newest videos (2): Joe Pye Weed, Blue Oyster Mushrooms, also some short video outttakes.
Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is October 12th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.
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