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RE: What is this monster plant? Need help identifying.

in #homesteading7 years ago

@goldendawne I think it is a Spiny Sow Thistle. I would say for sure it is spiny sow thistle if it were not for the purple stems. I have yet to see a single photo of one with purple stems, but everything else is 100% correct.

It is considered an invasive species in Georgia. It is edible, just like a dandelion and it is in the dandelion family. It is considered less bitter than dandelion, but with this thing growing so fast, I am not going to let it stay around to see what happened.

In about 2 hours, it has gone from fully opened flowers, to zero opened flowers, to the furry start of seed heads. I can understand why both Georgia and Florida have it on their list of highly invasive plants. Hopefully, I have caught it before the root system has had a chance to get established because it can spread through the root system and seeds.

Thank you much for your help! Your wild lettuce suggestion led me to a prickly wild lettuce which led me to spiny sow thistle, lol.

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If it were wild lettuce it would bleed a milky substance.

When I squeezed the stem I cut off, it had a milky sap. But that is also common with the spiny sow thistle. I dug it up because it was in my tomato bed. But I have seen several images and videos and I am satisfied it is spiny sow thistle.