Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Generally speaking, sowthistles resemble yellow-flowered wild lettuces (genus Lactuca), but the heads are much broader. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Sonchus arvensis var. glabrescens
FAMILY
Asteraceae_
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sonchus arvensis ssp. uliginosus
FAMILY
Asteraceae_
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-08-001:
Sonchus arvensis
FAMILY
Asteraceae_
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Sonchus uliginosus
COMMON NAME:
Field Sowthistle, Perennial Sowthistle
Click or hover over the thumbnails to see larger pictures.
Bruce A. Sorrie bas_sonchus_arvensis2
August Rensselaer County NY
Heads 30-50mm across in flower. Phyllaries and peduncles glabrous, per Weakley's Flora (2015).