Hedypnois rhagadioloides, the Cretanweed or scaly hawkbit, is a species of plant in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean Region and neighboring areas from Canary Islands to Iran,Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Hedypnois includes photos and European distribution maps and naturalized in Australia and in parts of the Americas (southwestern United States, Baja California in Mexico, central Chile).Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution mapAtlas of Living Australia, Hedypnois rhagadioloides (L.) F.W.Schmidt, Cretan WeedSEINet, Southwestern Biodiversity, Arizona chapter, Hedypnois cretica (L.) Dum.-Cours. photos, description, distribution map for North + South America
Hedypnois rhagadioloides is a variably hairy/hispid annual herb with flower stalks up to 40 centimeter (16 inches) stall, most of the leaves gathered around the base resembling the common dandelion except for the bristles. Leaves are green or purplish, up to 18 centimeters (7.2 inches) long. The plant produces a flower stalk with one single flower head or a flat-topped array of several heads. The head has rows of phyllaries that may be very bristly, and the head is egg-shaped when still closed. Each head contains 8-30 yellow ray flowers but no disc flowers.Flora of North America, Hedypnois cretica (Linnaeus) Dumont de Courset, 1802, syn of H. rhagadioloides
References
External links photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Macedonia Tela Botanica in French with photos and French distribution map On-line Flora of Malta many photos Flora Silvestre, Hedypnois rhagadioloides (L.) Schmidt Jepson Manual Treatment