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(updated November 28, 2022)
Smooth Catsear
Hypochaeris glabra L.
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)
▲▼mature flowering plants
▲ closer view of leaves
▲▼ closer view of inflorescence
Hypochoeris glabra
L., Smooth Catsear:
(Bayer Code:
HRYGL; US Code HYGL2)
·
European native summer annual that first forms a rosette of leaves, followed by
an upright, branched, usually leafless flowering stem that grows 4-20 inches
tall; stems green, round and hairless
·
Leaves are almost all at the base in a rosette, alternate, lanceolate, with
smooth, toothed or lobed margins (with pointed lobes); leaves usually hairless,
except sometimes has hairs along leaf underside midvein
·
Head inflorescences are 0.75-1.5 inches in diameter, usually single (sometimes
2-3 together) at tips of stems; no disk florets and 20-40 yellow (sometimes
white) ray florets
·
Bracts below inflorescence form a cylindrical to urn shape below the head, are
lanceolate, of unequal length, with reddish to purplish or brownish pointed tips
·
Flowering is throughout its growing season
·
After flowering the florets from the head become a loose globe-shape of white
hairs from the pappus (parachute-like hairs) attached to small, dark brown,
mature seed/fruit
·
Found in lawns, pastures, open woods, non-crop areas, right-of-ways,
particularly in sandy soils
·
Similar species:
o
Yellow Hawkweed
(Hieracium caespitosum) has hairy
flowering stems and basal leaves, with dark black hairs on bracts below
inflorescence, plus the flowers are tightly clustered at the tip of an otherwise
unbranched flowering stem
o
Common Catsear
(Hypochaeris radicata) has similar
yellow flowers, but has basal leaves covered with many stiff hairs, and leaves
have more rounded lobes
o
Smooth Hawksbeard
(Crepis capillaris) has similar, but
smaller, yellow flowers, but they are in larger, more open clusters; plus stems
and basal leaves are hairless, and basal leaves have deep, pointed lobes, and
there are smaller leaves along the flowering stems
o
Dandelion (Taraxacum
officinale) has similar flowers, but has dark green to reddish-green, nearly
hairless, deeply toothed rosette leaves, and flowering stems are single, pale
green to pinkish, hollow and leafless