Hypochaeris glabra
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Hypochaeris glabra | ||||||||||||||||
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Hypochaeris glabra L. |
Hypochaeris glabra is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name smooth cat's ear. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa but it can be found on other continents where it is an introduced species and a widespread weed. This is an annual herb growing a small taproot, a basal rosette of leaves, and one or more thin stems 10 to 40 centimeters tall. The leaves are 2 to 10 centimeters long, smooth along the edges or with small lobes, and green in color, sometimes with a purplish tint near the veins. Atop the thin, naked stems are flower heads with small overlapping purple-tipped phyllaries and bright yellow ray florets. The fruit is a cylindrical achene with a white pappus almost a centimeter long.