yellow dandelion-like flowers

Member of lettuce, chicory, dandelion, and salsify tribe (tribe Cichorieae)
sunflower family (family Asteraceae)
dicots (class Magnoliopsida)
flowering plants (subphylum Angiospermae)

For the purposes of this page, “dandelion-like” is defined as a plant in the sunflower family (family Asteraceae) in which the head is liguliflorous. This page collects in one place the dandelion-like plants with yellow inflorescences for easier comparison.

Caution: there are more dandelion-like flowers that are not yet listed on this page.

Compare with yellow daisies.

Key features

stem forked or not, hollow or not
shape of basal leaves
size of cauline leaves, sharp toothed or not, clasping or not, clasping lobes curled or not
involucre swollen at base or not
phyllaries in 2 series or many
shape of outer phyllaries
color of inner phyllaries
corolla ± red abasially or not

dandelions
genus Taraxacum

dandelions
genus Taraxacum

unforked, hollow stem (the peduncle, really) (breaks easily), always glabrous[?]
no cauline leaves
corolla yellow

mountain dandelions
genus Agoseris

mountain dandelions
genus Agoseris

unforked stem (peduncle), often hairy
most species without cauline leaves
corolla yellow, often tan abaxially

cat’s ears
genus Hypochaeris

cat’s ears
genus Hypochaeris

forked [hollow?] stem
cauline leaves scale-like [very reduced]
phyllaries graduated in 4–5 series, reflexed when dry
corolla yellow, often ± red abaxially

hawksbeards
genus Crepis

hawksbeards
genus Crepis

simple or much forked stem
cauline leaves clasping [per CalPhotos, maybe present only very low on the plant]
phyllaries in 2 series, outer reduced, inner ± equal
corolla yellow, ± red abaxially for some species

bristly oxtongue
Helminthotheca echioides

bristly oxtongue
Helminthotheca echioides

coarse, stout, branched stem
basal and cauline leaves warty; proximal tapered to winged petioles; distal sessile, sometimes clasping
phyllaries in 2–3 overlapping series; outer phyllaries spreading to ascending
corolla yellow, may be ± red abaxially

sow thistles
genus Sonchus

sow thistles
genus Sonchus

stem may have a few branches
cauline leaves clasping, lobed, often sharp
involucre swollen at base
phyllaries generally in 3 series
corolla yellow, ± tan abaxially

false hawkbit
Urospermum picroides

false hawkbit
Urospermum picroides

one stem from base, long-hairy, branched distally
mostly cauline leaves, toothed or lobed (distal leaves may be entire)

basal and proximal cauline leaves tapered to base
distal cauline leaves sessile, clasping

heads with long peduncles
phyllaries in 1 series, fused at base, bristly or ± glabrous
corolla yellow

nipplewort
Lapsana communis

nipplewort
Lapsana communis

one stem from base, branched distally
mostly cauline leaves, ovate, 2–20 cm

petioled or distally ± sessile

phyllaries in 2 series

few outer phyllaries, < 1 mm
8–10 inner phyllaries, 3–9 mm

6–15 ligules, 4–10 mm

cretanweed
Hedypnois rhagadioloides

cretanweed
Hedypnois rhagadioloides

one stem from base, occasionally branched
mostly basal leaves

cauline leaves at branch nodes
tapered to base
small teeth to mid-sized lobes

leaves, pedicel, and phyllaries with distinct spreading hairs
phyllaries in 2 series

outer phyllaries small
inner phyllaries all the same length, extending partway out the spread petals

ligules yellow, drying ± blue

may be reddish-brown tipped, especially underneath

13 observed taxons / 10 unobserved taxons / 7 keys

Chris’s observations: 123 (69 are research grade)

Locations:

Months:

Jan.: 1
Feb.: 3
Mar.: 9
Apr.: 27
May: 30
Jun.: 16
Jul.: 13
Aug.: 8
Sep.: 6
Oct.: 7
Nov.: 1
Dec.: 2

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