Smooth Cat's Ear

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Smooth Cat’s Ear - Russell Best via NatureShare | Smooth Cat’s Ear - Russell Best via NatureShare

Hypochaeris glabra


Small introduced daisy 10-40 cm tall (very small on poor sites) with a smooth stem and a small taproot. Green oval leaves, 2-15 cm long and 0.5-3 cm wide, forming a small rosette at the base. Soft yellow daisy made up of lots of overlapping notched yellow ray petals, sometimes purplish on outer edges.


Details
Flora Type
Herbs
Former Scientific Name
Hypochoeris glabra
Distinctive Features

All leaves at ground level, forming a rosette.

Biology

Annual weed. Found in lawns, gardens, roadsides and pastures, but also in native grasslands and woodlands. Possibly the taproot was harvested as a food source by Aboriginal people post-European contact.

Native Status
Introduced
Flowering Time

Jan-Dec

Taxonomy
Phylum
Tracheophyta (Vascular Plants)
Class
Magnoliopsida (Flowering Plants)
Order
Asterales
Family
Asteraceae
Genus
Hypochaeris
Species
radicata

From the Latin hypo = under, choiros = pig, possibly referring to the underground tubers being eaten by pigs. Seeds are dispersed via the wind and animals. Stems of this, and related daisies, exude a white sap when broken.


Interesting Facts
Similar Species

The leaves have strongly toothed or lobed margins distinguishing this species from the native Plains Yam Daisy Microseris scapigera, which has only a few, small teeth or lobes.

Native Status
Introduced