Sonchus oleraceus

Sonchus oleraceus

The Smooth Sowthistle (Sonchus oleraceus L., 1753) is a herbaceous species belonging to the Asteraceae family.

Systematic –
From a systematic point of view, it belongs to the Eukaryota Domain, Plantae Kingdom, Subregion Tracheobionta, Spermatophyta Super Division, Magnoliophyta Division, Magnoliopsida Class, Asteridae Subclass, Asterales Order, Asterales Family, Asteraceae Family, Cichorioideae Subfamily, Cichorieae Tribe, Hyuseridus and Specus Subeus. S. oleraceus.

Etymology –
The term Sonchus derives from the Greek = soft, spongy, for the characteristic of the fistulous and weak stem.
The epithet sepcific oleraceus is of Latin origin and consists of the root oler = vegetable and the adjective sufix for names aceus = similar to, that is, similar to vegetable vegetables.

Geographical Distribution and Habitat –
The Smooth Sowthistle is a plant with Eurasian origin but which has spread to become subcosmopolitan.
In Italy it is common throughout the territory. In the Alps it is present in all areas (France, Switzerland and Austria), on the other European reliefs it is found in the Black Forest, Vosges, Jura Massif, Central Massif, Pyrenees, Dinaric Alps, Balkan Mountains and Carpathians.
Beyond the European territory this species is present in Africa (it is indigenous in the Mediterranean part and in the center while in the south it is probably naturalized), in Asia (it is indigenous to the north, while in tropical areas it is naturalized), in Brazil, in the other parts of South and North and Central America is naturalized, it is also naturalized in Australia.
Its habitat is that of crops fertilized in vegetable gardens, meadows, roadsides and ruderal soils. It is also found in inhabited areas between the cracks in road surfaces.
The preferred substrate is calcareous but also calcareous / siliceous with basic pH, high nutritional values ​​of the soil which must be moderately humid, with an altitude distribution which sees it present from sea level up to 1700 m a.s.l.

Description –
Sonchus oleraceus is a 2-10 dm annual or biennial herbaceous plant that has a robust taproot root with erect stems, branchy from below, hairless, often red-violet and internally hollow.
The basal leaves are petiolate, first gathered in a rosette, they are soft, opaque, very variable in shape from lanceolate to roncinate, to triangular, contour foil ± spatulate roughly lobed or incised, those of the caule more reduced, are sessile, amplessicauli with orecchiette sometimes acute at the top and often with a reddish rib.
The inflorescence is gathered in flower heads of about 2-2.5 cm in diameter, in the form of a sparse corymb, often densely floppy, with a pyriform envelope and lanceolate and glabrous scales.
The flowers are all ligulated with an intense yellow color in the center; they often have lighter ligules externally, which open in the early morning and close with the intensification of the sun they close again after a few hours intolerant to the heat.
The antesis is between March and October
The fruits are achenes with 4-5 ± marked longitudinal ribs and thin transverse wrinkles, long thinned at the apex, with sessile pappi.

Cultivation –
The Smooth Sowthistle is a plant that can be easily grown in the open field, in the vegetable garden and also in pots as it does not require much care. It grows well and develops luxuriantly in the shade and in full sun. It adapts to any type of terrain and is satisfied with the rains and excluding the winter months it is practically present all year round.
The plant spontaneously reproduces by seed. If you intend to reproduce it, just collect the seeds that ripen after flowering and stratify them in any type of soil and also in a reserved area of ​​the vegetable garden or garden.
As for its use, remember that the plant is available practically all year round but the best time for harvesting is spring, a season in which it is richer in active ingredients, the juiciest fabrics and the decidedly more flavor sweet.
Harvesting is done by pruning the most tender shoots with your hands or cutting the whole plant with a sharp knife. The drastic cut does not compromise the health of the crepe as in a short time, like the cut lettuce, it rejects all its green parts.

Uses and Traditions –
Sonchus oleraceus is a plant known since ancient times and which in fact in various regions assumes various vernacular names; In fact, Pliny the Elder tells us that Theseus, before going into the labyrinth to kill the Minotaur, nourished himself with a nice plate of common barberry.
It is in fact an excellent edible plant, in its youthful state, raw in salad, mixed with other wild herbs, or boiled, used as a side dish, seasoned with oil and lemon or passed in a pan.
Especially once this plant was used in herbal medicine for its properties.
According to popular medicine, this plant has the following medicinal properties:
– emmenagogue (regulates menstrual flow);
– fever (lowers body temperature);
– cataplasmic (pasty medicament for external uses with emollient capacity);
– hepatic (promotes liver cleansing);
– tonic (strengthens the body in general).
Unfortunately today, as with other spontaneous plants, it is almost completely neglected. Furthermore, once roasted, the root was used as a substitute for coffee.
The leaves contain about 30 – 40 mg of vitamin C per 100 g of product. Other substances present and detectable from the ashes are: proteins 1,2%; fats 0.3%; carbohydrates 1,2%.
The parts used are: leaves, flowers and roots.

Preparation method –
Smooth Sowthistle can be used in the kitchen in various ways.
The fresh leaves are variously used in salads, soups, simply boiled with oil and lemon, or as a filling for ravioli and pansoti (stuffed pasta typical of Ligurian cuisine). The leaves are used as an ingredient for excellent omelettes. They are also one of the herbs that make up the preboggion (or prebuggiún, which is a mixture of spontaneous herbs typical of the cuisine of Liguria). The stalks are also edible (cooked like asparagus). Of the root, milky sap can be used as chewing gum (custom of the Māori of New Zealand).

Guido Bissanti

Sources
– Acta Plantarum – Flora of the Italian Regions.
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– Treben M., 2000. Health from the Lord’s Pharmacy, Tips and experiences with medicinal herbs, Ennsthaler Editore
– Pignatti S., 1982. Flora of Italy, Edagricole, Bologna.
– Conti F., Abbate G., Alessandrini A., Blasi C. (edited by), 2005. An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora, Palombi Editore.

Warning: Pharmaceutical applications and alimurgical uses are indicated for information purposes only, they do not in any way represent a medical prescription; therefore, no responsibility is accepted for their use for healing, aesthetic or food purposes.