Yellow Salsify (Tragopogon dubius) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

Yellow salsify is a tall wildflower from Europe and western and Central Asia that now grows along roadsides across nearly all of the continental US. It looks like a giant dandelion: its pale yellow flowers open on sunny mornings and close by midday, long green stick out past the petals, and after blooming it forms a puffy seed head about 3 in (7.5 cm) across. It is also called western salsify or yellow goat's beard.

Appearance

Growth form: A biennial (sometimes annual) herb about 1½–2½ ft (40–80 cm) tall with a taproot. Broken stems ooze a milky sap.
Leaves: Grass-like leaves about ½ in (1.2 cm) wide and up to 10 in (25 cm) long that clasp the stem.
Flowers: Single pale lemon-yellow flower heads up to 2 in (5 cm) across, ringed by about 13 green bracts that are much longer than the petals. The stalk just below the head swells to nearly the width of the flower base. Closed buds look like slender pods up to 5 in (13 cm) long.
Flowering time: May through September in Minnesota.

Look-alikes

Meadow salsifyTragopogon pratensis

Meadow salsify has brighter yellow flowers with bracts as long as or shorter than the petals, and its leaf tips often curl. Yellow salsify has paler flowers with bracts much longer than the petals.

Why they get mixed upBoth are tall, grass-leaved roadside plants with yellow flowers and big seed heads.

Common dandelionTaraxacum officinale

Dandelions are much shorter, have broad toothed leaves, and their flowers and seed heads are smaller. Yellow salsify has grass-like leaves and long bracts sticking out past the petals.

Why they get mixed upThe yellow flower and round, fluffy seed head look like a dandelion's.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: Roadsides
Dry fields
Disturbed ground
Prairies
Range: Native from central and southern Europe to western and Central Asia. Introduced to North America, it now grows across the continental US except a few areas of the far Southeast, and in most Canadian provinces.
Preferred conditions: Prefers full sun and dry ground. It invades prairies but usually grows scattered rather than in dense stands.
Flowering: Flowers May–Sep
Flowers May–Sep

Life cycle

Seed dispersal: Each seed is 1–1½ in (2–4 cm) long and carries a parachute of light brown hairs that rides the wind. Seeds on the outer edge of the head are darker and heavier than those in the center.