Dudhi / Common Sow Thistle
Sonchus oleraceus
Also known as Milk Thistle, Milk Weed
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka & more
- Flowering
- October-July
How to identify Dudhi
Identify Dudhi by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a herb habit.
- Confirm leaf surface: Glabrous (smooth, hairless).
- Confirm flower colour: Yellow.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: October-July.
- In India, compare location records such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Asteraceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Dudhi.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Sonchus oleraceus
- Genus
- Sonchus
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Distribution
- Cosmopolitan
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- October-July
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Dudhi itself; the rest are typical of the Asteraceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Yellowrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Head
- Fruit
- Achene
Characters marked “recorded” are for Dudhi itself; the rest are typical of the Asteraceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- दूधी Dudhi, Dodak, Dudhi, Pili dudhi
- Nepali
- दुधे काँडा Dudhe Kaandaa, छोटे झार Chhote Jhaar
- Telugu
- Ratrinata
- Kannada
- ನಾಯಿಹಕ್ಕರಿಕೆ Naayi hakkarike
- Marathi
- Pathari
- Punjabi
- Dodak
- Sinhala
- Gal-potu-kola
About Dudhi
Common Sow Thistle (Sonchus oleraceus) is a herb in the Asteraceae family. In India it has been recorded in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and 13 other states. Flowering and fruiting run from October to July.
Uses
It is grown for parts that are eaten, long used in traditional medicine and stripped for fibre used in rope and matting. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice.
Asteraceae
Daisy/Sunflower family
Dudhi belongs to the Asteraceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Asteraceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Dudhi or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides