False Dandelion (or Cats-ear)

False Dandelion

Hypochaeris radicata

http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=5237012

I had assumed that this plant was a close relative of the common yard dandelion. (Infact, I have always called them "mega-dandies", however, If I'm right on the ID, these are considered a more distant cousin and a member of a different genus. Unlike our dainty lawn dandies, these things range from 1 to 2 feet high. And where common yard dandies showcase one flower head per stem, False dandies may support several yellow heads on a branching stem. Like regular dandelions, False dandies rise out of of base pad (rosette) but rather than one or a few, False-Dandies launch whole stem thickets. In keeping, the stems are tough and fiberous (not hollow), and -- as anchored, most difficult to pull from the ground. Some False-dandies rise elegant, and can -- as a cluster, resemble the shape of a coke glass or vase. Others, like the one featured on top, look more like a Medusa head.

Like common dandelions, False Dandies follow a pattern which at first surprised me. The yellow flower head (comprised of many smaller florets) folds in on itself before reopening into the seed ball head. The second-to-last picture features a plant with yellow flower-head folded in waiting to unfold again as the seed ball.

Final note: the seed balls of False Dandies are frumpy, not nearly as elegant as real dandelions.

Snapshot Week 18: 5/3-5/19: It's a jungle out there

Rain, Rain, Sun, Rain

RAIN

Mount Holly Cemetery Roses

Privet Hedge Sludge...

Cat's Ear


Lance Leaf Coreopsis

Spiderwort

Catalpa Blooms after downing rain

Crimson Clover, having gone to brushy seed head.

The week of May 3 through May 9 was one wet steamy mess. With some two weeks marked by rain, many parts of the state are juggling flood and mud. And we even had one 90 degree day in the mix.

QuObservation: I watched as a diesel bus left a trail or rose petals in its wake.

Quick notes:

1. The school bus yellow lance leaf coreopsis reved with the rain.


2. The purple vetch all but disappeared, leaving behind growing little pea beanies.


3. Spider Wort, Catalpa, Privet Hedge in full stride.


4. Red Clover, White Clover, Yellow clover, Mega White Clover....going wild. Crimson gone to seed.


5. Grass, Grass, Grass. I have yet to give the kind of kind of time to it will take to learn my grasses and tell them apart, but there are more and bigger grasses in the wake of rain than I have seen in some years.