Sowthistle.
Sonchus asper.
A common weed in our gardens, and about our houses. It is three feet high; the stalk is round, thick, green, and upright. The leaves are long, and not very broad; they are indented at the edges, and prickly between the indentings. When any part of the plant is broken, there runs out a milky juice. The flowers are large, and yellow: they are somewhat like those of dandelion, and stand in a kind of scaly cup. The seeds have down affixed to them. The root is long and white.
The leaves are to be used fresh gathered; a strong infusion of them works by urine, and opens obstructions. Some eat them in sallads, but the infusion has more power. There are three or four other kinds of sowthistle, common in some places with this, and they have all the same virtues, but this has them most in perfection.
