Agoseris glauca (False Dandelion)
| Also known as: | Pale Agoseris, Pale Goat Chicory, Prairie Dandelion |
|---|---|
| Genus: | Agoseris |
| Family: | Asteraceae (Aster) |
| Life cycle: | perennial |
| Origin: | native |
| Habitat: | sun; open prairie |
| Bloom season: | June - July |
| Plant height: | 8 to 15 inches |
| Wetland Indicator Status: | GP: FACU MW: FACU NCNE: FACU |
| MN county distribution (click map to enlarge): |  |
| National distribution (click map to enlarge): |  |
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Detailed Information
Flower: 
![[photo of flower]](/udata/r9ndp23q/pd/agoseris-glauca-04-9.jpg)
Solitary yellow dandelion-type flower at the end of a long, naked, waxy, hollow stalk. Flower heads are 1 to 2 inches across with 15 to 150 ray flowers (petals), not usually as full or dense in the compostition and more coarse in appearance than the dandelion. The bracts behind the flower are in 2 to 3 rows, typically hairless, green, often purple tinged and/or spotted; the outer bracts shorter and broader than the inner bracts.
Leaves and stem:
![[photo of leaves]](/udata/r9ndp23q/pd/agoseris-glauca-04-4.jpg)
Leaves are ¼ to 1 inch wide, ½ to 10 inches long, green to blue-green, generally linear to narrowly lance-like with a pointed tip, typically toothless but sometimes irregularly toothed or with a few shallow lobes, erect or prostrate. The plant is typically hairless throughout but may be sparsely hairy on the leaves or flowering stalk.
Fruit:
![[photo of fruit]](/udata/r9ndp23q/pd/agoseris-glauca-04-6.jpg)
Fruit is a slender brown seed ¼ to ½ inch long with a tuft of white hair to carry it off in the wind. The seedhead also is coarser with fewer seeds than a dandelion.
Notes:
A native of Minnesota's western prairie meadows, False Dandelion can be frequent in relatively intact, diverse native habitats but it does not easily invade disturbed sites, so will not be commonly found across today's highly disturbed agricultural lands and roadsides. The USDA Plants database lists 6 varieties of this species but Flora of North America, our definitive reference, lists most as separate species and only 2 recognized varieties: A. glauca var. glauca, which is the Minnesota species, and var. dasycephala. All of A. glauca found in the US are primarily western species.Native Plant Nurseries, Restoration and Landscaping Services ↓
Map of native plant resources in the upper midwest
More photos
False Dandelion plantPhotos courtesy Peter M. Dziuk taken on private conservation land in Polk county.
Comments
Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it?
on: 2014-09-26 17:36:07
they were in bloom. nearby we also saw spotted touch-me-nots and some type of goldenrod that we are still trying to identify.
on: 2014-09-26 18:12:09
Chloe, if you saw it blooming in September then it would have been a different species, probably another dandelion look-alike flower (if not a dandelion). Check the leaves for a match.
on: 2014-09-27 16:14:46
I noticed a lot of these growing in tall bunches a long a path in the park, but clustered in one area.
on: 2014-09-27 19:13:03
Chloe, I still have doubts this is what you saw because this species is found primarily in open, dry prairie in western MN. It is very unlikely to be along a path in a Metro area park. Much more likely is Crepis tectorum, narrow-leaf hawks-beard.
on: 2019-06-14 09:50:25
We have this plant in a field usually mowed for grass hay. It just started blooming early June.
on: 2019-06-20 16:46:15
This is growing off Trail 77 in Lake Shore.
on: 2020-06-21 17:07:43
I spotted/photographed several of these (some showing flowers and withered fruit and seeds all on the same plant) today north of Crookston.
on: 2020-06-21 17:37:30
At first I walked past it, thinking it was (at a distance) a dandelion. The leaves didn't look right for a dandelion, so I took a closer look. I found several plants - in a healthy prairie. One of the plants had a new flower, a "spent" old flower, a new seed head and an old seed head. I snipped off a leaf and it oozed a white milky liquid.