Photographs: Co. Waterford

Common Blue-sowthistle Cicerbita macrophylla Bleachtán gorm Family: Asteraceae Flowering July - September. Perennial. Introduced, garden escape. Pale-blue flowers, the flowerheads in broad, loose, terminal clusters. Hairless, slightly winged fruit. Pale-green leaves, the long-stalked lower leaves are slightly toothed with large, +/- rounded terminal lobes. An erect, hairy, branched plant, height to 2m. Spreads by strong rhizones. Occasional in Ireland on waste ground, roadsides and river banks.

Common Blue-sowthistle, Cicerbita macrophylla, Bleachtán gorm