#narrowleaf hawksbeard

On a windy and cloudy Sunday morning of June

Pollination, yellow flowers of Crepis tectorum

Yellow flowers of  narrowleaf hawksbeard (Crepis tectorum)            

These flowers may look like dandelions, but they are not. This is Crepis tectorum, a plant introduced in Canada from Europe. It grows mostly on roadsides and sometimes in abandoned fields. When the flower is pollinated, it closes itself and reopen the same way as dandelions do. Its seeds are dispersed by wind too, obviously. However, it is easy to differentiate the two plants. Crepis grows up to few feet and can bear many flowers on the same stem. This plant is very adaptable to different types of soil and can be invasive. It is not a desired plant, either for its uses or for its beauty. I hope my picture shows you that it can be a very pretty plant.