Gray Gold-Aster and its beautiful flowers

Gray Gold-Aster (Heterotheca canescens) and its beautiful flowers is very abundant now at Lake Kirby Nature Park along the dam road and prairie areas. It’s a very common mid-summer into fall species in the sunflower family.

The foliage is grey-silver in appearance, hence the common name.

Songbirds eat the seeds and the many flowers provide nectar for pollinators. It is not palatable to livestock so, from a rancher’s perspective, this is just a native species that crowds out other more desirable plants.

Even so, it’s definitely worth stopping to take a look at to admire the attractive flowers and foliage.

Prickly Lettuce – a relative of your common supermarket lettuce

Prickly Lettuce – Lactuca serriola

Smaller than a dime across, the tiny flowers of Prickly Lettuce have their own unique beauty. This species is a member of the sunflower family. Your common, edible garden lettuce (a different species) is thought to be derived from Prickly Lettuce.

Prickly Lettuce – single group of flowers

Prickly Lettuce is a native of the Old World, and like many non-native species, whether plant or animal, seem to become aggressive and too abundant, crowding out many native species. This is typical of what ecologists call a disturbed habitat, whether by land clearing for urban growth and expansion or by fire or storm. Here’s a question: does knowing that this species is a non-native invader lessen your ability to enjoy the beauty of its flowers? I would love to hear your comments!

Prickly Lettuce – entire plant