Sonchus
Family: Compositae
English: Sow Thistle
Dioscurides and Theophrastus distinguished between two kinds of Sonchus: the tender and edible species, and the wilder and prickly species. In some ancient Greek texts Antiphanes comments: "Our dinner consisted of a barley pie, probably some kind of bulb and a delectable dish of sonchus or mushrooms..."
This is an annual, sometimes biennial plant with wing-shaped, spiny-toothed leaves. The flowers are yellow. It blooms from April to June. Six species occur in Greece: Sonchus oleraceus, and S. asper.
These species occur mainly in arable plots and orchards, as well as at roadsides and barren expanses. The best time to collect sonchus for consumption is from September to March, when it is tender with a pleasant taste. It can be added to salads, used in herb pies as well as in meat and fish dishes. Its milky sap can be used as a stomachic. In ancient Greek medicine the sap was considered an antidote to scorpion bites.
Popular Greek names:
"Tsohos", "Zohos" or "Zohari", "Tziohos", "Galatuna".
