|
|
 Leaves West Virginia University Herbarium @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) |  Plant USDA, NRCS. 2022. PLANTS Database (https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/, 07/30/2022). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA | | | | |
|
Origin:
Introduced
Life Cycle:
Biennial or annual
General Desc:
Smooth annual to 2 feet tall, stems slender, leafy, usually several arising from a taproot, reclining at the ground with tips ascending; leaves have milky sap.
Identification notes: Leaves oblong to narrow, midribs usually bristly; flower stems of appressed short branches; flowers usually yellow, can be bluish or dries bluish to white; fruit flattened to elliptic, 5 to 9 nerved, topped by white, thin deciduous bristles.
Height:
2 feet
Habitat Description: Found in disturbed areas.
Plant Communities:
Disturbed Areas
Elevation: Below 5000 feet
Color:
Yellow, bluish, whitish
Shape:
Daisy or dandelion-like in elongated clusters
Tubular:
Y
Flowering Period:
Aug
Description:
Small heads, narrow, spike-like, cylindrical clusters of flowers maturing from bottom upwards; rectangular pale yellow ray florets, sometimes bluish below, toothed tips, 8 to 10 per head, no disc florets; bracts overlapping in 2 or more series.
Leaf Color:
Pale green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Narrow
Leaf Margin:
Smooth
Leaf Attachment:
Alternate
Leaves Clasp:
Y
Hairs:
Leaves
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Alternate, narrow, to 2 inches long, pale green, taper to a narrow tip, bases arrowhead-shaped and clasp the stems, margins smooth or the lower ones toothed or few-lobed, the midribs usually prickly, covered with bristles.
Fruit Color: Light brown
Fruit Type: Achene
Fruit Notes: Achenes (small hard 1-seeded dried fruits that don't split open) light brown, to 1/8 inch long, spiny-ribbed, strongly flattened, prolonged into 1/4 inch long tip with a disc at the apex; topped with numerous white bristles, about as long as the tip.
|
|
