Carolina Chicory (Texas Dandelion)

Carolina Desert Chicory

or

Pyrrhopappus carolinianus

False Dandelion - 2
Or that which is also not-a-Dandelion but which is not the-other-False-Dandelion.
Or (my name)
"Lion's Mane Dandy"

http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/pyca2.htm

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PYCA2


I need to be careful that I do not call too many things my favorite weed, but this one has to be one of my very favorite favorites. I like the contrast of its outlandish Southern Bell flower, with the Gothic (almost gargoylish) support works. Look at the stem parts holding the bloom, and it looks like iron works that could support a vase. And there is the height, in combination with the gargoyle leaves.

Of interest: I do not know if I have photographed one or two different varieties of Carolina Chicory. I see some of these plants that are only about a foot high, and rise like periscopes out of lawns. Then there are the three and four foot variety that climb out of the "ruins."

Also of interest: These are sun tracking flowers that follow the sun across the sky. For more on "Heliotropism" see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliotropism