Another Krigia from Ken in SC

This is certainly “yellow” week for me. This plant/flower was growing near some of the Krigia. There was a large group of them, but it is not near as widespread in our field as the Dwarf Dandelion is. Would this be “False Dandelion”?

Ken,

I am positive this is Krigia dandelion, so the other Krigia you posted is not this species, but most likely Krigia oppositifolia.  Dig down, you should find a tuber at the very bottom of the root on K. dandelion – it always detaches if you pull up the plant.  Krigia oppositifolia never has tubers.

Pyrrhopappus, by the way, has flowers that are a paler shade of yellow, and are much more robust and fibrous-stemmed; fresh Krigia flowers tend to have some orange tint in them – not always so clear in photos.

By the way, your complete image is fine and shows the detail – I don’t know why it is not displayed well on our site.  Perhaps too large an image.

–Dr. Steven R. Hill, Botanist, SCNPS

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