''Crepis vesicaria'' is a

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an species of flowering plant in the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

with the common name beaked hawk's-beard.Altervista Flora Italiana, Radicchiella rosea, Beaked hawksbeard, Löwenzahn-Pippau, blåsfibbla, ''Crepis vesicaria'' L.
includes photos and European distribution map It is native to the Western and Southern

from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

east as far as

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It became naturalized in scattered locations in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. ''Crepis vesicaria'' is an

annual Annual may refer to: * Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook ** Literary annual * Annual plant * Annual report * Annual giving * Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco * Annuals (b ...

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...

, or

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb up to 120 cm (48 inches or 4 feet) tall, producing a large underground

caudex A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...

. Each plant can have as many as 20

flower heads A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

, each with up to 70

ray florets The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

but no

disc floret The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

s. It grows on hillsides and in sandy clearings.Flora of North America, Beaked hawksbeard ''Crepis vesicaria'' Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 805. 1753.
/ref> A prominent plant, Crepis vesicaria stands erect, with many branches, each ending in its own dandelion-like flower. The underside of the flower has two layers of leaf-like

phyllaries In botanical terminology, a phyllary, also known an involucral bract or tegule, is a single bract of the involucre of a composite flower. The involucre is the grouping of bracts together. Phyllaries are reduced leaf-like structures that form one or ...

. The inner layer is longer and pointed, and often curls back away from the rest of the flower head. The outer layer is substantially shorter.

Subspecies

Subspecies include: * ''Crepis vesicaria'' subsp. ''andryaloides'' (Lowe) Babc. * ''Crepis vesicaria'' subsp. ''bivonana'' (Soldano & F.Conti) Giardina & Raimondo * ''Crepis vesicaria'' subsp. ''hyemalis'' (Biv.) Babc. * ''Crepis vesicaria'' subsp. ''myriocephala'' (Batt.) Babc. * ''Crepis vesicaria'' subsp. ''stellata'' (Ball) Babc. * ''Crepis vesicaria'' subsp. ''taraxacifolia'' (Thuill.) Thell. * ''Crepis vesicaria'' subsp. ''vesicaria''

References

vesicaria Flora of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Cichorieae-stub