Definition

Noun: * A common name for various species of flowering plants in the genus Sonchus, characterized by their coarse, often prickly leaves, stems that contain a milky sap (latex), and typically yellow, dandelion-like flower heads. These plants are frequently considered invasive weeds in gardens and cultivated fields.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The field was overrun with sow thistle, its yellow flowers dotting the landscape.
  • Gardeners often struggle to control sow thistle due to its deep taproot and prolific seed production.
  • Despite being a weed, young leaves of some sow thistle species are edible.

Advanced Usage

• "as common as sow thistle": A simile (though less common) implying something is widespread, hardy, and difficult to eradicate.
  • Old rumors can be as common and persistent as sow thistle in a small town.

Variants and Related Words

• Sonchus (n): The botanical genus name for sow thistles.
  • The plant was identified as Sonchus oleraceus.
• Milk thistle (n): A common name for a different plant (), also with milky sap and thistle-like appearance, but not a true sow thistle.
• Prickly sow thistle (n): A specific common name for , a species with particularly spiny leaves.
• Common sow thistle (n): A specific common name for .

Synonyms

• Hare's thistle
• Milk weed (Note: This is a general term for many plants with milky sap and can cause confusion with other species.)

Related Phrases

• To be sown with thistles: An idiom meaning to be in a ruined or unproductive state, often due to neglect. While not containing "sow thistle" directly, it uses the related word "thistle."
  • After years of abandonment, the once-fertile field was sown with thistles.

Notes on Meaning

The term "sow thistle" specifically refers to plants in the Sonchus genus. It is important to distinguish it from other plants with "thistle" in their name, such as Scotch thistle or Canada thistle, which belong to different genera. The "sow" in the name is of uncertain origin but may relate to the plant's attractiveness to pigs or its perceived coarseness.

Noun

1. any of several Old World coarse prickly-leaved shrubs and subshrubs having milky juice and yellow flowers; widely naturalized; often noxious weeds in cultivated soil