| Scientific name: | Sonchus arvensis L. | |
| Swedish name: | Åkermolke | |
| German name: | Acker-Gänsedistel | |
| Nederlandse naam: | Akkermelkdistel | |
| English name: | Field sowthistle | |
| Plant Family: | Asteraceae, Compositae, Korgblommiga |
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| Life form: | Perennial | |
| Stems: | To 1.5m tall, erect, herbaceous, glabrous, glaucous, hollow, with milky sap, branching above in inflorescence, single from stout taproot or stolons; the upper stem and bracts have conspicuous yellow glandular hairs. | |
| Leaves: | Alternate, lobed, toothed, prickly edges | |
| Flowers: | Similar to a dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), bright yellow; bracts, green and bristly with sticky hairs | |
| Flowering Period: | June, July, August, September | |
| Fruits: | reddish, ribbed and have a tuft of hair (pappus) at the top. | |
| Habitat: | Throughout the country except in the northernmost parts where it occurs more sparingly; Waste ground, roadsides, railroads |
Derivation of the botanical name: Sonchus,Greek name for sow-thistle plants. arvensis, arvum, field, cultivated land, plowed land; ensis adjective suffix for nouns: country or place of origin or habitat. MeaningL: "of cultivated fields".
The fruit of the Sonchus arvensis is an achene and can be distinguished from the Sonchus oleraceus by its deeper and more prominent ribs, and because it lacks the two distinct narrow longitudinal grooves present on each side of Sonchus oleraceus. The Sonchus arvensis is a perennial plant , while the Sonchus oleraceus is an annual. 
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