Sonchus canariensis

Sonchus canariensis, the tree sonchus, is a species of plant endemic to the Canary Islands.^[1]

Sonchus canariensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Sonchus
Species:	S. canariensis
Binomial name
Sonchus canariensis (Webb) Boulos

Description

Its leaves are arranged in a terminal rosette on the branches. The capitula are wide, up to 1.5 cm in diameter and 3 m in height, arranged in a loose inflorescence. The leaves are pinnatisect, with narrow foliar lobes.^[2][3]

Distribution

Sonchus canariensis is endemic to the central Canary islands, with the subspecies canariensis on both islands and subspecies orotavensis Boulos only in Tenerife.^[2][3]

Etymology

Sonchus: generic name from the Latin Sonchus, -i , derived from the Greek σόθχος, the locksmith; used by Pliny the Elder in its History Naturalis , 22, 88^[4]

canariensis: alluding to the Canary archipelago, in its broadest sense.