I took these in Indianapolis around the end of May. I have no idea what kind of flower this is.
Wow, really? It’s a dandelion.
Joe Blow wrote:
I took these in Indianapolis around the end of May. I have no idea what kind of flower this is.
White Sow Thistle
Seed head looks like a dandelion but they grow taller and with multiple stems and seed heads. I get them in my yard fairly often.
It's a Salsify flower seed head. Many are yellow but they come in a variety of colors and colloquial names.
-Doc
I have found them called 'goat's beard'. For several years I tried to save the seed and plant them in my beds, and finally a couple of years ago, I had one come up! Now I make sure some of the seed are scattered in areas where they will not be mowed. They are wonderful seed heads to photograph! They put on a small bright yellow flower, but the seed head is awesome. I have seen them growing in Colorado, Ky. and Tn. I suspect they are scattered in many places across the US.
BB4A wrote:
Wow, really? It’s a dandelion.
OK, it isn't a dandelion. The leaves are wrong and go up the stem.
Thank you all for chiming in. I think they are Tragopogon dubius, commonly called salsify and goat's beard (among other names). And yes, they do have attractive flowers and seed heads. I couldn't have figured it out without the help on where to start looking.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragopogon_dubius
BB4A wrote:
Wow, really? It’s a dandelion.
You can't tell the relative size from these images, but the Salsify has a ball like a dandelion except the seed ball is bigger than a American baseball.
Joe Blow wrote:
I took these in Indianapolis around the end of May. I have no idea what kind of flower this is.
That looks mighty familiar.
Good close ups of that dandelion.
They're very common here in nothern Indiana, especially in "waste" areas like railroad right-of-ways, roadsides, etc.
Very hardy when left to their own devices, and a favorite photo subject for many folks.
Joe Blow wrote:
I took these in Indianapolis around the end of May. I have no idea what kind of flower this is.
whatever they are, you got some pretty shots of them, joe.
merrytexan wrote:
whatever they are, you got some pretty shots of them, joe.
Thank you. It's easy to get a nice shot when you have a nice subject. I really appreciate the close up that shows the symmetry of the seed arrangement
Joe Blow wrote:
Thank you all for chiming in. I think they are Tragopogon dubius, commonly called salsify and goat's beard (among other names). And yes, they do have attractive flowers and seed heads. I couldn't have figured it out without the help on where to start looking.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragopogon_dubiusThanks for the education. I’m glad to be wrong (I often am), as it’s generally a learning experience. I’ve seen plenty of these in Europe too, and had just assumed that they were a form of dandelion.
Flowers and other plants are often regional in the USA. Also the Composite Family is the largest of all plant families. There are a lot of them. Yes, it does more or less look like a dandelion as I might see in California, but it is slightly different and from many replies from Mid-Westerners and Easterners it is a different species. Dandelion flowers to not get baseball sized. Wow would I ever love to do a focus stack on what ever that "seedhead" is. I might have to travel a bit though.
If you want to reply, then
register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.