Lettuces, Dandelions & allies

Yellow Fox-and-cubs Chicory Southern Goat's-beard Three-leaved White Lettuce

What are they?

It's easy to forget that those chunky, green, leafy things in plastic bags that we pick up from the supermarket or farm stand actually started out as wild plants - with much smaller leaves and with heads of flowers! There are many species in the lettuce/dandelion group, many of which can at least initially be identified by their milky sap. Members of this group have many-flowered heads, usually resembling the familiar Dandelion, but the lettuce group tend to have fewer petals and, though some are yellow, several are white to creamy white or pale blue in color.

Where are they found?

Many plants in this group were originally introduced into North America from Europe and are often troublesome weeds in garden flowerbeds and lawns and also in farmland.

Identification

Plants in this group can be confusing to and are often just all passed off as dandelions. But careful checking of leaves, stems and phyllaries should make identification of most species relatively straight forward.

Technical terms that it is useful to know when identifying this group are Phyllary, Ligule and Pappus. The phyllaries are the greenish outer part of the compound head of flowers and which can differ quite significantly between two, otherwise very similar, species. The ligule is the colored part of the flower that you or I would normally call a petal. In fact, each flower has five petals which are fused together at the base into a tube, then elongated out into a single, strap-like structure (the ligule). The pappus is the downy 'parachute' that carries the seed on the wind; these are best known as the 'clocks' of dandelions, so common on lawns in early summer.

Chicory Cichorium intybus

Common to abundant on road shoulders and in abandoned, grassy places, making an impressive splash of color during the summer. This species is an introduced alien from Europe and its roasted root has been used as a substitute for coffee. Flowers mostly July to October. The bright blue (rarely white or pink) flowers, arranged in small clusters all up the stem make this an easy species to identify. Basal leaves are similar to those of the dandelions, but the end lobe is much bigger than the side lobes.


Habit	Distinctive blue flowers	Basal leaves	Single leaf

Canadian Lettuce Lactuca canadensis

A rather variable species, but often getting very tall (eight feet or more) and 'weedy' with a large, spreading head of tiny yellow flowers. Common and widespread in gardens and other disturbed areas, often as a weed of flowerbeds and arable field margins. Flowers late June to September.


Habit	Flower spike	Small yellow flowers often flushed pinkish	Leaves large and usually deeply lobed

Least Lettuce Lactuca saligna

(Willow-leaved Lettuce) Introduced from Europe. An often very small and easily-missed species, especially when growing in very arid conditions in dune hollows and sandy or gravelly fields. Introduced from Europe and usually in disturbed habitats. Not officially recorded for Cape May County, this species can be found in several places around Cape Island. It closely resembles very small individuals of the commoner Prickly Lettuce but tends to have narrower, less spreading flowerheads with flowers borne close to the stem and upper leaves are narrow and willow-like. Flowers July-August.


Habit - easily missed among other plants	Pale yellow flowers often flushed pink	Lower leaves deeply lobed	Upper leaves narrow and carried upright

Prickly Lettuce Lactuca serriola

Introduced from Europe. Frequent and common as a weed of disturbed ground and fields. Prickly Lettuce is a rather variable species but can readily be distinguished by its leaves which have a ridge of prickles along the midrib on the underside. The leaves are often rotated 90 degrees into a vertical plane and aligned roughly north-south, a habit which earns itself the name of Compass Plant (though this name is also used for other species). In rich soils, this species can grow to over six feet high, but can equally be a very small plant of one foot or less in height when growing in poor, dry soil. Flowers June to October.


Habit	Leaves have prickles along midrib on underside	Leaves can be entire or strongly lobed	Seeds brown with white pappus

Perennial Sow-thistle Sonchus arvensis

(Field Sow-thistle) Introduced from Europe. Uncommon, but can become locally common as it spreads readily from underground root systems. Can be an agressive perennial of arable farmland and old fields as well as the drier edges of saltmarshes and reedbeds. Readily told from other sow-thistles by the yellow, glandular hairs on the phyllaries and top of the flower stem and by its perennial habit. Flowers June to October.


Habit	Flower head	Phyllaries have yellow glandular hairs	Leaves lance-shaped with irregular lobes

Prickly Sow-thistle Sonchus asper

Frequent and common as a weed of disturbed ground, gardens and fields. Flowers June to August.Best told from Smooth Sow-thistle by its rounded leaf bases.


Habit	Flowers	Leaves rounded at base	Seed head

Smooth Sow-thistle Sonchus oleraceus

(Common Sow-thistle) Frequent and common as a weed of disturbed ground, gardens and fields. Flowers June to October. Best told from Prickly Sow-thistle by its pointed leaf bases.


Habit	Leaves have pointed lobes at base

Three-leaved White Lettuce Nabalus trifoliolatus

(Gall-of-the-earth, Rattlesnake Root) An often tall plant of woodland edge and shady field margins. The Prenanthes species are closely related to the true lettuces but have white rather than blue flowers and the flowers are nodding on long stems. Flowers August to October.


Flowers on long stems with long stamens	Lower leaves divided into three sections	Upper leaves triangular	Stems smooth, often with purple spots (note milky sap)

Carolina Desert-chicory Pyrrhopappus carolinianus

I can find no records of this species for New Jersey, but it occurs in neighboring Pennsylvania and Delaware. The plant photographed here was found in Peaslee WMA in the north of Cape May County, so it should be looked for elsewhere in dry, sandy, open fields. Flowers late June to August. Desert-chicories are similar to the widespread Common Cat's-ear, but have paler, lemon-yellow flowers.


Pale yellow flowers	Phyllaries long, strap-like with darker tips	Leaves long & narrow with irregular, shallow lobes	Upper leaves clasp stem

Chondrilla Chondrilla juncea

(Rush Skeletonweed) An introduction from the Mediterranean region, Chondrilla thrives in hot, dry places and is common in disturbed areas at the back of dunes and in dry, sandy fields. It is most easily identified later in the season as it's stems get progressively longer throughout the flowering period and bear very tiny leaves that soon drop off, leaving thin, wiry growths that give it its alternative name of skeletonweed. Flowers July to September.


Habit	Flowers single along thin, wiry stems	Basal rosette of leaves resembles Chicory, but lower stem bristly	Fluffy seed heads are pure white

Common Dandelion Taraxacum officinale

Introduced from Europe. Widespread and common to abundant in grassy areas, especially lawns. Flowers March to November with a peak in April. Though everyone knows a dandelion when they see one, the genus Taraxacum actually consists of a large number of species all of which tend to be apomictic. In this context, that means that the plants produce seeds without cross-fertilization and thus the offspring are clones of their single parent. For the purposes of this guide, however, the larger, 'weedy' species are all lumped under the old aggregate name of Taraxacum officinale. Dandelions (the word comes from the French 'Dent de Lion', meaning Lion's teeth and refers to the outline of the leaf) can be told from all other similar-looking species in this group by the flower heads being carried singly, at the top of a hollow stem.


Habit	Flower	Phyllaries	Leaf

Lesser Dandelion Taraxacum erythrospermum

Introduced from Europe (though there are native dandelions in this group in North America). Widespread and common to abundant in grassy areas, especially lawns. Flowers March to November with a peak in April. Though everyone knows a dandelion when they see one, the genus Taraxacum actually consists of a large number of species all of which tend to be apomictic. In this context, that means that the plants produce seeds without cross-fertilization and thus the offspring are clones of their single parent. For the purposes of this guide, however, the smaller species are all lumped under an aggregate name of Taraxacum laevigatum. Dandelions (the word comes from the French 'Dent de Lion', meaning Lion's teeth and refers to the outline of the leaf) can be told from all other similar-looking species in this group by the flower heads being carried singly, at the top of a hollow stem. The Lesser Dandelions differ from Common Dandelions by their smaller flower heads with usually fewer ligules and their leaves, which are smaller, with narrower lobes which tend to curve back more strongly.


Habit	Flower	Phyllaries	Leaf

Gronovius' Hawkweed Hieracium gronovii

The hawkweeds in the genus Hieracium are notoriously really difficult to identify, but fortunately for us on the coastal plain, they tend to be more common in shady hill country and at more northerly latitudes. Gronovius' Hawkweed is the species most likely to be found in Cape May County and it is reasonably common in fields, open woods and roadsides throughout the area. Flowers July to September. The open, candelabra-like flower spikes and roughly hairy stems and leaves are easy to recognise. Species in this genus tend to form single-stemmed plants, with or without a basal rosette of leaves, and are often found in loose colonies of a number of plants.


Open heads of flowers on long stems	Phyllaries with one or two yellow-tipped glandular hairs	Leaves clasping stem and roughly hairy with wavy edges	Coarse white hairs on stem

Veined Hawkweed Hieracium venosum

(Rattlesnakeweed) Found in open, dry woodland and along shady field borders. Flowers May to July. The leaves with their heavily purplish-marked veins make this an easy species to identify. Usually found growing in scattered colonies of leaf rosettes.


Habit	Flower	Phyllaries with a few dark hairs	Leaves purple-veined

Tall Mouse-ear-hawkweed Pilosella piloselloides

(Smooth or Tall Hawkweed) Introduced from Europe. The Pilosella hawkweeds generally differ from the Hieracium species by forming low, spreading, leafy mats, which can form extensive patches on grassy roadsides. Flowers May to October. Flowers carried on a stem that is much taller than in other Pilosella species.


Flower heads	Phyllaries covered in black hairs with yellow, glandular tips	Leaves narrow and almost hairless	Leaf midribs and stem with coarse black hairs.

Yellow Fox-and-cubs Pilosella caespitosa

(Meadow, Yellow or Field Hawkweed) Introduced from Europe. The Pilosella hawkweeds generally differ from the Hieracium species by forming low, spreading, leafy mats, which can form extensive patches in open, grassy meadows and even lawns. Flowers May to October but mostly mid-summer.


Habit	Habit	Phyllaries covered in black hairs with yellow, glandular tips	Leaves wavy-edged with long, silky white hairs

Orange Fox-and-cubs Pilosella aurantiaca

Introduced from Europe. Flowers May to October but mostly mid-summer. Old records exist for Cape May County, but there have been no recent reports of this introduced but bright and cheery plant. Forms small colonies in short grass habitats such as lawns and roadsides.


Habit	Flowers	Flower close-up	Leaves stiff, with long, silky white hairs

Lesser Hawkbit Leontodon saxatilis

Introduced from Europe, this species can be found at the Two-mile Beach unit of Cape May NWR. A low species with a basal rosette of leaves which can be very hairy to almost hairless (but never completely smooth), depending on growing conditions. Flowers are borne singly on long stems, the stems being hairy at the base and smooth at the top. Flowers July to September.


Flower head	Phyllaries smooth, yellow ligules are pinkish underneath	Leaves toothed and coarsely to lightly hairy	Pappus buffy or pale brownish

Common Cat's-ear Hypochaeris radicata

(Hairy Cat's-ear) Very common to abundant throughout Cape May County in lawns, fields, roadsides and all manner of grassy places. Introduced from Europe and now well established. Flowers May to October. Easily identified by its rough, bristly leaves and the small bracts on the branching flower stems.


Habit	Phyllaries with pale midrib and often reddish tips	Small, leaf-like bracts on flower stems	Leaves rough with coarse, bristly hairs

Smooth Cat's-ear Hypochaeris glabra

Introduced from Europe. A scarce plant, recently found in dry, sandy soil on the barrier islands Flowers May to October. Usually much smaller than typical Common Cat's-ear, with hairless leaves and much smaller flowers.


Flower head	Phyllaries	Leaves smooth	Seed head

Southern Goat's-beard Tragopogon dubius

(Yellow Salsify) A chunky plant with flowers much larger than the familiar Dandelion and with enormous fruiting heads than can be up to four inches across and very showy. A large colony of these plants can be seen at the Magnasite Plant near Cape May Point during the summer. Related to the pink-flowered Salsify (T. porrifolius), the root of which can be eaten as a vegetable. Flowers May to July.


Note pointed bracts which which are longer than ligules	Leaves grass-like with white mid-vein	Upper leaves clasp stem	Huge seed heads with white pappus

Virginia Dwarf-dandelion Krigia virginica

An often tiny adventive plant of disturbed ground, tracksides and fallow fields. Flowers May to July. Single plants of this species may easily be missed as they can be very small, but often they occur in quite extensive colonies, making them easier to spot. Usually hairless but for a few glandular hairs at the top of the flower stem, but plants can be more hairy at times. Readily identified after going to seed due to the distinctive pappus in two rows, the outer row like silvery, papery petals, the inner ones long and hair-like.


Flowers orange-yellow, single, on long stems	Leaves smooth, glaucous but may have a few hairs	Phyllaries mostly smooth, green	Distinctive silvery pappus

Two-flowered Dwarf-dandelion Krigia biflora

(Two-flowered Cynthia) Recorded many years ago in Cape May as a rare introduction, but there have been no recent records. Flowers May to June. The intensely orange-yellow flowers are eye-catching, making this plant hard to overlook. Each stem usually carries to flower heads at the top.


Flowers bright orange-yellow, usually two per stem	Phyllaries	Basal Leaf smooth, glaucous	Upper stem leaf clasps stem

Cape May Plants An Identification Guide