coast dandelion ~ 05/13/12 ~ Fort Ord

coast dandelion / seaside dandelion

Agoseris apargioides var. apargioides

Asteraceae

posted 06/09/12 - I don't have an absolutely positive ID on this dandelion, since it was not from one of my three May guided tours of Fort Ord (easy-peasy for IDs) but rather through Andy, my anywhere running cam (as one kind blog reader called him). There are 4 spp./var. of Agoseris listed for Fort Ord, which on the surface look quite similar. The tricky part is the wide, large, serrated, and deeply lobed leaves in the center of the second pic do not belong to the flowers. If you follow the stems down from the flowers, there are small clumps of thin, lobed leaves, hence how I went about this ID.

CA dandelion ~ 05/14/11 ~ Fort Ord

California dandelion / desert dandelion
Malacothrix californica
Asteraceae

The inflorescence on this dandelion seemed much larger than the invasive common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) that I usually see in lawns. I asked our long-legged guide Chris, who had already quickly passed a profusion of these flowers, what this was. She doubled-back to answer my question. I was surprised to find out there are native dandelions. In fact, a quick check of Calflora shows there are 39 species/subspecies of native dandelions in multiple genera with a few endangered, rare, or presumed extinct. Hey, learn something new everyday. I'm guessing M. californica and M. glabrata (smooth desert dandelion) are difficult to distinguish in areas where both species/varieties occur. This flower was found in an area that was burned in 2009.