Yellow Goatsbeard, Western Salsify

Tragopogon dubius Scop.

Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

▲▼ first year rosettes

▲ flowering plant

▲ flower

▲ fruit/seed

Western Salsify or Yellow Goatsbeard:

·         biennial broadleaf weed with very thin leaves that appear almost grass like

·         single stemmed or branched from 1-3 feet tall

·         flower is large, yellow, dandelion-like flower; stem becomes swollen just under flower

·         seedhead is large globe of tawny parachute-like fruit (like dandelion seedhead, but larger, more brown)

·         sticky sap of plant makes plant unpalatable to livestock

·         similar species, Meadow Salsify:

o   generally smaller plant, without swelling of stem below flower as in western salsify

o   bracts below flower do not extend past petals, as with western salsify