Pyrrhopappus carolinianus, Carolina Desert-Chirkory

Pyrrhopappus carolinianus, Carolina desert-chickory, may resemble the nonnative dandelion (Taraxacum) and be found commonly as a lawn weed, but it is a native in the eastern US. Most striking is the pale lemon-yellow color. Secondarily, the head is unlike that of a sunflower or typical aster, with their ray and disk flowers; here the head is a cluster of fully formed florets.

Credit: Wayne Hughes, May 2009; photographed in the rolling hills of the Wolfskin district of the northeast Georgia Piedmont, used by permission [source].

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