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Cat's Ear (Hypochoeris radicata)
Image ID: 2014/ahgh111L
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·leaf
Other common names: Catsear, False Dandelion, Flatweed
Introduced
Family:
Asteraceae (Sunflower)
Height: 0.5 to 1.5 ft.
Blooms: May to
August
Leaf Type:
smooth
Bloom Size: 1 in. (typical)
Flower Description:
Individual flowers,
Parts indistinct
Location: Allegheny Highlands Trail
Date: 5/31/2014
Notes:
Note the smooth stem and hairy leaves.
More photos of this flower
Cat's Ear may be
easily confused with:
- Canada Hawkweed
The flower of cat's ear is much larger than that of Canada hawkweed. Cat's ear has only basal leaves, while Canada hawkweed had leaves along the stem.
- Common Dandelion
The leaves of cat's ear are hairy, while dandelion leaves are smooth. The dandelion has a distinctive hollow stem with milky sap.
- Large Mouse-Ear Hawkweed
Both plants have hairy basal leaves. Those of cat's ear are scalloped or toothed, while the hawkweed leaves are smooth-edged.
- Yellow Hawkweed
Cat's ear has a flower that is an inch or more across, while yellow hawkweed blooms are only about a half an inch across. Yellow hawkweed blooms are clustered, while cat's ear has single flowers.
We started out as wildflowers from the bicycle trails of western Pennsylvania, but we've
grown!
Meyer, Joseph E. (1918). The Herbalist and Herb Doctor. Hammond, Ind.: Indiana Herb Gardens. 400 pp.
