OregonFlora: Tragopogon porrifolius vs. Tragopogon pratensis

	Tragopogon porrifolius	Tragopogon pratensis
	oyster plant, salsify	Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, meadow salsify
Habit	Plants 4–12 dm.	Plants 1.5–9 dm.
Leaves	glabrous; tips straight.	tomentose or floccose when young, glabrous with maturity; tips recurved.
Peduncles	inflated distally.	slightly or not inflated.
Involucres	conic.	usually campanulate.
Florets	corollas purple; outer ligules not surpassing phyllaries.	corollas pale yellow; outer ligules equaling or surpassing phyllaries.
Fruits	1–2 cm.	1.5–2.5 cm.
2n	=12.	=12.

	Tragopogon porrifolius	Tragopogon pratensis
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion	Roadsides, fields, disturbed areas. Flowering Apr–Jun. 50–1500 m. BW, Col, ECas, Owy, Sisk, WV. CA, ID, NV, WA; throughout most of North America; Europe. Exotic. See also T. mirus discussion.	Roadsides, fields, disturbed areas. Flowering May–Jul. 0–1500 m. WV. CA, ID, NV, WA; throughout most of North America; Europe. Exotic. Similar to Tragopogon mirus, allotetraploid hybrid speciation has occurred between T. pratensis and T. dubius. The result (T. miscellus) has been documented only near Pullman, WA. Because the parental species and T. miscellus are similar morphologically (all with yellow flowers), populations of the latter may be overlooked. Tragopogon miscellus can be fairly easily identified, however, by the combination of leaves with recurved tips and outer ligules not surpassing the phyllaries.
Source	Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 365 Stephen Meyers	Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 365 Stephen Meyers
Sibling taxa	T. dubius, T. mirus, T. pratensis	T. dubius, T. mirus, T. porrifolius
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Tragopogon pratensis

oyster plant, salsify

Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, meadow salsify

Habit

Plants 4–12 dm.

Plants 1.5–9 dm.

Leaves

glabrous;

tips straight.

tomentose or floccose when young, glabrous with maturity;

tips recurved.

Peduncles

inflated distally.

slightly or not inflated.

Involucres

conic.

usually campanulate.

Florets

corollas purple; outer ligules not surpassing phyllaries.

corollas pale yellow; outer ligules equaling or surpassing phyllaries.

Fruits

1–2 cm.

1.5–2.5 cm.

=12.

Tragopogon pratensis

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Roadsides, fields, disturbed areas. Flowering Apr–Jun. 50–1500 m. BW, Col, ECas, Owy, Sisk, WV. CA, ID, NV, WA; throughout most of North America; Europe. Exotic.

See also T. mirus discussion.

Roadsides, fields, disturbed areas. Flowering May–Jul. 0–1500 m. WV. CA, ID, NV, WA; throughout most of North America; Europe. Exotic.

Similar to Tragopogon mirus, allotetraploid hybrid speciation has occurred between T. pratensis and T. dubius. The result (T. miscellus) has been documented only near Pullman, WA. Because the parental species and T. miscellus are similar morphologically (all with yellow flowers), populations of the latter may be overlooked. Tragopogon miscellus can be fairly easily identified, however, by the combination of leaves with recurved tips and outer ligules not surpassing the phyllaries.

Source

Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 365
Stephen Meyers

Sibling taxa

T. dubius, T. mirus, T. pratensis

T. dubius, T. mirus, T. porrifolius

Web links