Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Sonchus oleraceus L.

Synonyms

Sonchus tenerrimus L. (misapplied)

Family

Asteraceae (Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory)
Compositae (South Australia)

Common Names

annual milk thistle, annual sow thistle, annual sowthistle, colewort, common sow thistle, common sow-thistle, common sowthistle, field sow-thistle, hare's lettuce, hare's-lettuce, milk-thistle, milk thistle, small sow thistle, smooth sow-thistle, smooth sowthistle, sow thistle, sow-thistle, sowthistle

Origin

Native to northern Africa (i.e. Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia), Europe, western and northern Asia (i.e. Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, northern and central China and Korea) and the Indian Sub-continent (i.e. northern India, Nepal and northern Pakistan).

Naturalised Distribution

This species is very widely naturalised throughout Australia, though it is less common in the driest and northernmost parts of the country. It is found throughout Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia and is also naturalised in the southern and central parts of the Northern Territory). Also naturalised on Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and Christmas Island.

Naturalised overseas in tropical and southern Africa, New Zealand, North America (i.e. the USA, Canada and Mexico), Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Mauritius, south-eastern Asia (i.e. Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea) and on several Pacific islands (i.e. the Galápagos Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawaii, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Niue and Tonga).

Notes

Common sowthistle (Sonchus oleraceus) is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.