Field Milk Thistle (Sonchus arvensis)

Family: Asteraceae or Compositae | Edibility: Edible (2/5)

Sonchus arvensis is a PERENNIAL growing to 1.2 m (4ft). It is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to October, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees, flies, Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies), beetles. The plant is self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Leaves, Shoots, Roots/Tubers

Harvest Seasons: Spring, Early Summer, Late Summer, Fall, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

taste, they can be added to salads or cooked like spinach. — Young leaves - raw or cooked.; A slightly bitter taste, they can be added to salads or cooked like spinach.; The leaves are rich in mineral salts and vitamin C, they contain about 47mg of vitamin C per 100g and 2% protein (dry weight).; It might be best, though it is not necessary, to remove the marginal prickles.

Habitat & North American Range

Arable and waste land, ditches and on the drift line of salt and brackish margins, avoiding acid soils. A persistent weed of cultivation. (Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8)