Goatsbeard Yellow salsify (3)

Yellow salsify, which originated in Eurasia and Northern Africa, was introduced into the U.S. at the beginning of the 1900's as a garden plant. It escaped cultivation and became naturalized throughout an area extending south from New York into Virginia, west to California, and north to Illinois.
Yellow salsify is a biennial (rarely a short-lived perennial) that produces foliage with a grass-like appearance. However, all parts of the plant contain a milky juice, which is not a typical trait of grasses but is a common feature among species in the Asteraceae Family. During the first year of growth, yellow salsify forms a rosette of long narrow leaves that look like blades of grass. The following year, 2-inch-wide yellow flower heads form at the ends of leafy stems. Flowers generally open in the morning and close by mid-day. Flowers mature into fluffy white seed heads that could easily be mistaken for those of dandelions except they are about twice as large. The plant reproduces by seeds.
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