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The Field milk thistle (Sonchus arvensis) belongs to Asteraceae (the Aster family). It is a perennial herb that is distributed from Europe to the Caucasus, plus Siberia. It has also naturalized in many other areas and is considered an invasive noxious weed in North America, New Zealand, and Australia. It grows in meadows, along roadsides, lakeshores, rivers, and seashores, and is 40 to 150 cm tall. The leaves are oblong and deeply lobed in a pinnate pattern. The upper leaves have spines-like serrations and enfold the stem. Yellow flower heads, 3 to 5 cm long, bloom in summer. The specific epithet "arvensis" means field in Latin.
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