Yellow Salsify (Tragopogon dubius) is also known as Oyster Plant (for the taste of its edible root) or Goat's-beard. The latter annoys me because it is also applied to a native shrub, Aruncus dioicus, totally unrelated beyond being vegetative. Salsify is an introduced (but not invasive) species and I first saw it growing in the disturbed soils of southwestern Washington prairies where it quickly found a special niche in my heart. The yellow flowers are only open early in the day, giving way to 3-4 inch diameter seed heads resembling enormous dandelion clocks. While walking on the Yelm Prairie Line Trail yesterday, I saw several fully open, but I had left my camera in the car. By the time I was able to return to the site with it, the flowers had already begun to close.
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