Yellow Goatsbeard

Yellow Goatsbeard, Western Salsify

Tragopogon dubius Scop.

Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

▲ ▼ first year rosettes

▲ flowering plant

▲ flower

▲ fruit/seed

Western Salsify or Yellow Goatsbeard:

• biennial broadleaf weed with very thin leaves that appear almost grass like
• single stemmed or branched from 1-3 feet tall
• flower is large, yellow, dandelion-like flower; stem becomes swollen just under flower
• seedhead is large globe of tawny parachute-like fruit (like dandelion seedhead, but larger, more brown)
• sticky sap of plant makes plant unpalatable to livestock
• similar species, Meadow Salsify:
  • generally smaller plant, without swelling of stem below flower as in western salsify
  • bracts below flower do not extend past petals, as with western salsify

Go to Midwest Weeds and Wildflowers Home Page