The elegant dandelion

Agoseris glauca, July 21, 2020

Agoseris glauca, July 21, 2020

Common & scientific name
Pale agoseris, Agoseris glauca

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Ptarmigan Creek, 11,000’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Can look at first glance like a dandelion, with its single yellow flower head on a leafless stalk.  The big differences lie in the phyllaries and the basal leaves: the phyllaries do not curl over backwards like a dandelion’s, and are green with purple stripes; and the leaves are simple, not cut.  It’s fruit, called a cypsela, has soft, white bristles resembling the puff ball of a dandelion.

A. glauca, July 21, 2020

A. glauca, July 21, 2020