Sonchus asper

Botanical Description

Sonchus asper is an erect, annual plant, occasionally becoming biennial; it can grow 100 - 150cm tall. The stem can be simple or branched[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. It is sometimes cultivated locally as a food plant in New Zealand[ 153 Title Economic Native Plants of New Zealand. Publication Author Brooker. S. G., Cambie. R. C. and Cooper. R. C. Publisher Oxford University Press Year 1991 ISBN 0-19-558229-2 Description An interesting and readable book on the useful plants of New Zealand. , 317 Title Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants Publication Author Website http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Terse details of a huge range of useful plants. ]. Sonchus asper is a weed of cultivated land and waste places. It has spread through human activity to most of the temperate zone and is even found in the tropics. One report says that although it is a weed, it is generally not considered noxious in agriculture and horticulture[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. Another report says that it has been declared a noxious weed in several countries[ 305 Title Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk Publication Author Website http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands. ].