Description :

• Annual, biennial or perennial herbs, with milky latex
• Leaves alternate or sometimes rosulate, often with cauline leaves stem-clasping, entire, dentate, pinnatifid or dissected
• Capitula ligulate, sessile or peduncled, in irregular corymbose panicles or rarely solitary
• Involucre ovoid or campanulate; bracts in several rows, ovate to linear, densely tomentose to glabrescent
• Receptacle flat, honeycombed, epaleate
• Florets (ligules) bisexual, fertile; corolla yellow, strap-shaped; tube longer than linear or elliptic, shortly 5-lobed lamina
• Anthers sagittate at base, auricles shortly setaceous-acuminate; with a lanceolate, apical appendage
• Style linear, becoming terete and pubescent above; branches medium to long, sweeping hairs small
• Cypselas somewhat compressed, elliptic or oblong, ribbed, smooth or rugulose
• Pappus in many rows, always dimorphic, of fine, down-like hairs intermixed with bristles
• x = 9 (7, 8) (aneuploids, high polyploidy)

Nomenclature:

• Sonchus L.
  • Linnaeus: 793 (1753)
  • Linnaeus: 347 (1754)
  • Merxmüller: 3 (1967)
  • Boulos: 287 (1972)
  • Hilliard: 621 (1977)
  • Pope: 221 (1992)
  • Bremer: 189 (1994)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global : Species ± 60, Eurasia to tropical Africa
• Southern Africa : Species 11, widespread