Asteraceae, the daisy, sunflower or composite.
Description:
Plant:
Upright plant 1'-2' high with grass-like leaves, milky sap, surmounted by a solitary,
large, yellow, dandelion-like flower. Biennial.
Flowers:
Bright yellow dandelion-like heads of all ray flowers, 1"-2" across, with brown stamens, and
surrounded at the base by long, pointed bracts. The base of the stem is not notably swollen
where it joins the flower; this distinguishes the plant from the closely related Yellow
Goatsbeard (T. dubius). Flowers generally solitary, usually one to a plant.
Leaves:
Basal rosette the first year, with a few alternate leaves on the flowering stem the second;
linear, grasslike, to 12" long, stem leaves clasping.
Fruit:
A large, globose head 2"-3" in diameter, of seed-like achenes each with an umbrella of stiff hairs.
Blooming:
June-September
Habitat:
Fields, waste places.
Comments:
Also known as Meadow Salsify, this European introduction is
related to common salsify, or oyster plant (P. porrifolius), which has pink-purple
flowers and an edible root.
It is a biennial, forming a rosette of the grasslike leaves the first year, and a flowering
stem the second.
The flowers open in the morning, and generally close by afternoon.
The roots, like those of salsify are edible; they must be gathered before the flowering
stem develops, or they become tough and unpalatable.
The young leaves can be eaten as a potherb or in salads.
Where to find it:
Uncommon in the park, appearing sporadically in meadow areas.