Sonchus asper Hill

 
  • Family : ASTERACEAE
    (Composite Or Aster Or Sunflower Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : GENDA FAMILY (गेंदा फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Compositae
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Sonchus asper (L.) Hill
  • Common name : Milk Thistle
  • Vernacular name :
    • Dudhi, Dodak, Titlia (Hindi)
    • oosithagarai (Tamil)
    • Ratrinta (Telugu)
    • Varapputhannel (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Herb
  • Comments / notes : Common weed
  • Key identification features : Erect, slender, glabrous herbs; Basal leaves in rosette; Heads solitary on glandular-hairy peduncles, yellow; Achenes compressed, 3-ribbed on lateral faces; Pappus white.
  • Flower, Fruit : June-April
  • Distribution :
    • Uttarakhand : Uttarakhand
    • Sikkim : Sikkim
    • Himachal Pradesh : Chamba district, Kullu district
    • Arunachal Pradesh : Arunachal Pradesh
    • Delhi : Delhi
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Punjab : Punjab
    • Jammu and Kashmir : Jammu and Kashmir
  • Native : Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Altay, Amur, Austria, Azores, Baleares, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Bulgaria, Burkina, Buryatiya, Cameroon, Canary Islands, Central European Russia, Chad, Chita, Corse, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Djibouti,
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Cosmopolitan
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 2
    • H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa
    • H J, Chowdhery, et al. Flora of Himachal Pradesh. Volume 2, Botanical Survey of India, 1984. Pg.: 419
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Sonchus asper
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Sonchus asper. Downloaded on 22 February 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Field Image(s)

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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