''Sonchus palustris'', commonly known as marsh sowthistle, is a plant native to temperate regions of the Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

in western China. It has also become naturalized in a few locations in the Canadian Province of

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. ''Sonchus palustris'' can be found in damp peaty or silty soils rich in

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

. The species

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

''palustris'' is Latin for "of the marsh" and indicates its common habitat. It is a perennial herb sometimes as much as 350 cm (almost 12 feet) tall. It produces an array of numerous flower heads, each with numerous yellow ray flowers but no disc flowers.Flora of North America, ''Sonchus palustris'' Linnaeus, 1753. Marsh sow-thistle
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References

palustris Flora of temperate Asia Flora of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Cichorieae-stub