Marsh Sow-thistle vs Spiny sowthistle

Sonchus palustris compared with Sonchus asper

Key Differences

• Marsh Sow-thistle is Near Threatened while Spiny sowthistle is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Marsh Sow-thistle	Spiny sowthistle
Kingdom same	Plantae (planta)	Plantae (planta)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order same	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family same	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus same	Sonchus	Sonchus
Species	Sonchus palustris	Sonchus asper

Evolutionary Relationship

Marsh Sow-thistle and Spiny sowthistle share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Sonchus.

Conservation Status

Marsh Sow-thistle

NT — Near Threatened

Spiny sowthistle

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Marsh Sow-thistle	Spiny sowthistle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Marsh Sow-thistle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (North Korea), Europe (5 countries), and North America (Canada). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Spiny sowthistle

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (14 countries), Asia (11 countries), Europe (13 countries), North America (7 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, Fiji, Micronesia), and South America (7 countries).

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 6 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇦 Canada 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇰🇵 North Korea 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden