PlantFiles: Stemless False Dandelion, Sharppointe Prairie Dandelion
Nothocalais cuspidata

This is one of many species in the Chicory tribe of the Aster family that have dandelion-like flowerheads and foliage with a milky latex. The most familiar member of this group is the introduced Taraxacum officinale (Dandelion), which is a common lawn weed. The Prairie Dandelion can be distinguished from similar species by considering the following characteristics: 1) This is a perennial plant, rather than a biennial or annual, 2) stems with cauline leaves are never produced, 3) there is only one flowerhead per leafless stalk, 4) the flowerheads are at least 1" across, 5) the basal leaves are linear in shape and they lack teeth or lobes, and 6) the margins of the leaves are usually finely crisped and/or downy white. Other members of the Chicory tribe in Illinois usually lack one or more of these features. The closely related Agoseris spp. (Mountain Dandelions) of the western states have many of these features, but their achenes are conspicuously constricted below the apex. The achenes of the Prairie Dandelion are unconstricted or only slightly constricted below the apex. Other scientific names are occasionally used to refer to the Prairie Dandelion, including Agoseris cuspidata and Microseris cuspidata.