Taxon: Launaea cornuta (Hochst. ex Oliv. & Hiern) C. Jeffrey

Summary

Genus:

Launaea

Family:

Asteraceae (alt. Compositae)

Subfamily:

Cichorioideae

Tribe:

Cichorieae

Subtribe:

Hyoseridinae

Nomen number:

450972

Place of publication:

Kew Bull. 18:468. 1966

Verified:

03/15/2012 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

0 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System.

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Sonchus cornutus Hochst. ex Oliv. & Hiern

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Launaea exauriculatus (Oliv. & Hiern) Amin ex Boulos
Sonchus bipontini Asch. var. exauriculatus Oliv. & Hiern
Sonchus exauriculatus (Oliv. & Hiern) O. Hoffm.

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	bitter-lettuce	1	PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
French	laitue amère	2	PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Swahili	mtsunga	2	PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	Reference
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Uganda	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Chad	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Djibouti	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Eritrea	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Somalia	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Sudan	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zimbabwe	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Nigeria	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Burundi	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Cameroon	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Central African Republic	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Rwanda	Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.

Native
Africa

NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Chad
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Burundi, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Nigeria
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Reference(s)

Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Human food	vegetable		PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Weed			Kilian, N. 1997. Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae, Lactuceae, Sonchinae). Englera 17:175-185.

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=450972. Accessed 10 May 2026.