Cicerbita macrophylla Common Blue-sow-thistle

A tall, rhizomatous, perennial herb with glandular hairs in its upper parts. The basal leaves have long, winged stalks and a somewhat rounded teminal lobe and the chicory-like flowers are pale violet in colour. It is a native of the Urals and was first recorded wild in Britain as a garden escape in 1915. It is widely naturalised in lowland Britain on roadsides and other marginal habitats where it can establish extensive clonal colonies. As a garden plant it can become quite invasive and unwanted plants are frequently thrown out and become established in the wild. British plants are all Cicerbita macrophylla ssp. uralensis. There are scattered records in West Glamorgan.

Neophyte