I photographed this "weed" in my backyard in Brunswick East the day I got my (then) brand new Nikon D50.
It's a perfect example of how all plants can be weeds if in the "wrong" location. The common sowthistle is deemed an invasive weed in Australia and other countries.
But one of its common names is sowthistle because of its "attractiveness to pigs, and the similarity of the leaf to younger thistle plants". It's also commonly referred to as hare's colwort because of its "purported beneficial effects on hares and rabbits".
Native Americans, Chinese and Māori people are believed to have used (and perhaps still do) the leaves as part of their diet and/or herbal remedies.
Whatever your thoughts on these plants, they made a good study for me to try out my new camera back in 2005.
For whatever reason, I didn't edit these at the time, but I enjoy the buds at various stages of blooming and the greens in these images.
And maybe there's a message here about how each of us can have value in particular environments but be unwelcome pests in others.