Smooth Catsear
Smooth Catsear
Hypochaeris glabra L.
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)
▲ ▼ mature flowering plants
▲ closer view of leaves
▲ ▼ closer view of inflorescence
Hypochoeris glabra L., Smooth Catsear: (Bayer Code: HRYGL; US Code HYGL2)
- European native summer annual that first forms a rosette of leaves, followed by an upright, branched, usually leafless flowering stem that grows 4-20 inches tall; stems green, round and hairless
- Leaves are almost all at the base in a rosette, alternate, lanceolate, with smooth, toothed or lobed margins (with pointed lobes); leaves usually hairless, except sometimes has hairs along leaf underside midvein
- Head inflorescences are 0.75-1.5 inches in diameter, usually single (sometimes 2-3 together) at tips of stems; no disk florets and 20-40 yellow (sometimes white) ray florets
- Bracts below inflorescence form a cylindrical to urn shape below the head, are lanceolate, of unequal length, with reddish to purplish or brownish pointed tips
- Flowering is throughout its growing season
- After flowering the florets from the head become a loose globe-shape of white hairs from the pappus (parachute-like hairs) attached to small, dark brown, mature seed/fruit
- Found in lawns, pastures, open woods, non-crop areas, right-of-ways, particularly in sandy soils
- Similar species:
- Yellow Hawkweed (Hieracium caespitosum) has hairy flowering stems and basal leaves, with dark black hairs on bracts below inflorescence, plus the flowers are tightly clustered at the tip of an otherwise unbranched flowering stem
- Common Catsear (Hypochaeris radicata) has similar yellow flowers, but has basal leaves covered with many stiff hairs, and leaves have more rounded lobes
- Smooth Hawksbeard (Crepis capillaris) has similar, but smaller, yellow flowers, but they are in larger, more open clusters; plus stems and basal leaves are hairless, and basal leaves have deep, pointed lobes, and there are smaller leaves along the flowering stems
- Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) has similar flowers, but has dark green to reddish-green, nearly hairless, deeply toothed rosette leaves, and flowering stems are single, pale green to pinkish, hollow and leafless
(Updated November 28, 2022)