About Crepis vesicaria L.
Crepis vesicaria L. is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, commonly known as beaked hawk's-beard. It is native to Western and Southern Europe, ranging from Ireland and Portugal eastward to Germany, Austria, and Greece, and has become naturalized in scattered locations across North America. Crepis vesicaria can grow as an annual, biennial, or perennial herb, reaching up to 120 cm (4 feet, 48 inches) tall, and produces a large underground caudex. A single plant can produce as many as 20 flower heads; each flower head contains up to 70 ray florets and no disc florets. This species grows on hillsides and in sandy clearings. It is an erect, prominently branched plant, with each branch ending in a dandelion-like flower. The underside of the flower head has two layers of leaf-like phyllaries: the inner layer is longer and pointed, and often curls back away from the rest of the flower head, while the outer layer is substantially shorter. Crepis vesicaria is a source of helenynolic acid, a rare fatty acid.
