Sonchus arvensis
Ecology
A creeping perennial herb of roadside verges, ditch and river banks, sea-walls and the upper parts of beaches and saltmarshes, particularly along strand lines; it is also frequent in arable fields, where it can be a weed, and on waste ground. It prefers disturbed, nutrient-enriched soils. 0-445 m (near Bishop`s Castle, Salop).
Status
Trends
There has been no change in the distribution of S. arvensis since the 1962 Atlas. A glabrous form, subsp. uliginosus, has been recorded throughout Britain, usually from wetter habitats. Its taxonomic status and ecology require further study.
World Distribution
Eurosiberian Temperate element, but widely naturalised so that distribution is now Circumpolar Temperate.
Broad Habitats
Light (Ellenberg): 8
Moisture (Ellenberg): 6
Reaction (Ellenberg): 7
Nitrogen (Ellenberg): 6
Salt Tolerance (Ellenberg): 1
January Mean Temperature (Celsius): 3.8
July Mean Temperature (Celsius): 14.8
Annual Precipitation (mm): 1013
Height (cm): 150
Perennation - primary
Life Form - primary
Woodiness
Clonality - primary
Count of 10km squares in Great Britain: 2320
Count of 10km squares in Ireland: 806
Count of 10km squares in the Channel Isles: 9
Atlas Change Index: -0.12
Weighted Changed Factor: 1
Weighted Change Factor Confidence (90%)
JNCC Designations
Atlas text references
Atlas (297d)
.
1986. Atlas of north European vascular plants north of the Tropic of Cancer. 3 vols.
.
1990. The biology of Canadian weeds. 94. Sonchus arvensis L. Canadian Journal of Plant Science. 70:509-532.
.
1968. A glabrous perennial Sonchus in Britain. Proceedings of the Botanical Society of the British Isles. 7:151-157.
.
1992. Vergleichende Chorologie der zentraleuropäischen Flora. Volume 3. 2 vols.