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

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.