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 Leaves Paul Rothrock @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |  Plant University of Nevada Herbarium. Usage Rights: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |  Bracts and flower head Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) | | | |
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Origin:
Introduced
Life Cycle:
Annual, biennial or perennial Similar Species: Tragopogon pratensis
General Desc:
Upright plant usually unbranched but may have a few stem branches. The stems, when torn, secrete a milky juice. The leaves are grasslike and may grow to over 1-1/2 feet tall. Each flower stalk bears a single, showy, purple, daisy-like flower head.
Identification notes: Biennial, winter annual or perennial; basal and stem leaves, blades narrow somewhat grass-like, bases clasp, margins smooth, can be hairy or not; flower heads single, purple, stems often inflated near flower heads; flower head bracts in 1 series.
Height:
To about 4 feet
Habitat Description: Found on agricultural land: crop fields, orchards, vineyards and other disturbed areas like roadsides, waste places and vacant urban lots, often in moist soils. Also found on the sides of woodland trails and in the open areas of coniferous forests.
Plant Communities:
Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: 6900 - 7100 feet
Color:
Purple
Shape:
Daisy or dandelion-like not in clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Jun
Description:
A thick stalk bears a single 2 to 4 inch flower head at its tip. The flower head consists of 7 to 20 petal-like, strap-shaped ray flowers in a daisy-like cluster surrounded by 8 or 9 narrow, green, leaf-like bracts that are much longer than the petals.
Leaf Color:
Green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Narrow
Leaf Margin:
Smooth
Leaf Attachment:
Basal and alternate
Leaves Clasp:
Y
Hairs:
Leaves
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Grass-like leaves grow in a rosette at the ground level and on the stem. The linear leaves grow about 5 to 20 inches long, have parallel veins, may have a hairy or smooth surface and release a milky sap if torn. The leaf base is wide and clasps the stem.
Fruit Color: Brown, reddish-brown
Fruit Type: Achene
Fruit Notes: Fruit is dry, 1-seeded, about 1/2 to 1 inch long, 1/8 inch wide and oblong-shaped with a lightly ridged surface. The mature fruit looks like dandelion "puffballs". Each fruit has a thin projection (beak) at its tip that ends in a tuft of soft white hairs.
Seed Notes: The seeds are less than 1/16 inch and brownish. The tiny seed can be found at the bottom of each fine white hair in the fruit's tuft. The tuft-like "parachute" of fine white hairs on each fruit is 3 inches wide facilitating wind dispersal of the seeds.
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