1008 



COMPOSITAE 



Sonchus 



Sonchus asper (L ) H 



50 



Map 2216 



Lactuca Scariola L. 



Indiana Harbor, Lake County. There is also a large colony along the Lake 

 Erie Railroad just south of Bluffton, Wells County. If left undisturbed 

 this species and its variety spread rapidly. 



Nat. of Eu. ; Newf. to Minn, and B. C, southw. to N. J., Colo., and Utah. 



la. Sonchus arvensis var. glabrescens Guenther, Grab. & Wimm. 

 (Rhodora 30: 19. 1928.) Smooth Field Sow Thistle. Map 2213. As 

 shown by the map this form of the sow thistle is becoming well established 

 in the state. Most of my specimens are from highways and usually the 

 colony is near a dwelling. This variety is ornamental when in flower and 

 while I do not know that it has been used as a garden plant, I strongly 

 suspect it has, because of the proximity of most of the colonies to habita- 

 tions. Obviously its principal mode of propagation is by the multiplication 

 of rhizomes since the colonies noted are closed and few separate plants 

 observed. 



Special stress should be placed upon the eradication of the few colonies 

 we now have, or in due time this weed will be ubiquitous in the state. In 

 nearly every instance where I have found it I have informed the owner of 

 the land of the dangerous character of the plant, and I have also notified 

 the county agricultural agent of its existence. I have no data concerning 

 the general distribution of the variety. 



Nat. of Eu. 



2. Sonchus oleraceus L. Common Sow Thistle. Map 2214. There 

 are reports of this species being found throughout the state. In my early 

 botanical work I did not collect what I considered common garden weeds, 

 and in most instances this accounts for the comparative paucity of speci- 

 mens of these common plants. This species is a weed and prefers rich soil. 

 It is found mostly in gardens, truck gardens, waste places, and fallow fields 

 and along railroads and roadsides. 



Nat. of Eu. ; now a weed throughout the world except in the extreme 

 north. 



