Tragopogon pratensis

The single most useful field mark is its grasslike, grey-green foliage, a trait that sets it apart from other dandelion-type flowers in the United Kingdom, where it is described as the only one with leaves of this shape.

The plant grows up to 76 centimeters tall. Its lower leaves reach 10 to 30 centimeters long, lanceolate, keeled lengthwise, pointed, hairless, and marked with a white midrib; the upper leaves are shorter and more erect.

The flower heads, on display between June and October, are yellow and 15 to 25 millimeters wide, opening only in morning sunshine. After flowering, the achenes form a long-beaked pappus with fine white side hairs, woven together like a spider's web into what is called a "blowball."

It can be told apart from viper's-grass (Scorzonera humilis) by its bracts: viper's-grass has short, pale green bracts, while Tragopogon pratensis has ones that are long and pointed.

Tragopogon pratensis is distributed across Europe and North America, commonly growing in fields, hence part of its name, and along roadsides. In North America it occurs from southern Ontario to Massachusetts, while in the British Isles it is found across most of England, the eastern and southern edges of Scotland, and central Ireland, though not along its coastal edges.

Its native range spans Europe into central Asia and Türkiye, including countries from Spain and France to Kazakhstan and the Baltic states, within a temperate climate. It has also been introduced widely across North America, from British Columbia and California to Quebec and Newfoundland, as well as into the West Himalaya.

Monthly observation counts show a pronounced peak from May through July, consistent with its June-to-October flowering period, though these figures reflect presence observations rather than actual population size or abundance.

Tragopogon pratensis is a biennial herb, completing its life cycle over two growing seasons before flowering and setting seed.

The flower heads attract a range of insect visitors, most notably bumblebees (Bombus) and hoverflies such as Sphaerophoria scripta and Episyrphus balteatus, alongside various solitary bees including Andrena and Halictus species, though a visit to the flower is not itself proof of pollination.

The plant also supports a range of animals that feed on it, most prominently finches and other seed-eating birds such as the Eurasian bullfinch, common redpoll, and Eurasian skylark, as well as gamebirds like the rock partridge and waterfowl including mallards and greylag geese. Among insects, the moth Amphipyra tragopoginis and the aphid Brachycaudus tragopogonis are recorded feeding on it, the aphid's name reflecting its close association with the genus Tragopogon.

People have long used Tragopogon pratensis as a foraged food plant. Its roots can be boiled and eaten like potatoes, while the fresh stems and buds can be cooked in a manner similar to asparagus, and the young leaves can be eaten raw.

1. Its common name, Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, refers to the flowers closing by midday, even though they only fully display between June and October.
2. It is also known by the names meadow salsify, showy goat's-beard, and meadow goat's-beard.
3. Its seed head, or "blowball," is formed from a long-beaked pappus with fine white hairs interwoven like a spider's web.