SMOOTH HAWKSBEARD, Crepis
capillaris (L.) Wallr. 1, entire plant; 2, flower
head; 3, seed. Annual or biennial, reproducing by
seeds only. Stems slender, erect, leafy, with milky juice, often
branching at base, 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 cm) tall. Leaves alternate,
nearly free of hairs, spatulate with spreading lobes at base, margins cut
or toothed. Flower heads about 1/2 inch (13 mm) in diameter,
composed of yellow ray flowers, on long stalks at tips of branches. Seeds
tapered on both ends, about 1/16 inch (1.5 mm) long, brownish, with numerous
soft white bristles at upper end. Found in hayfields, pastures,
and wasteland.