Lapsana communis

Common nipplewort

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Common nipplewort is a naturalized annual found in northwestern California, Sierra Nevada, Central Valley, Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, and southwestern California in shady places and disturbed areas at elevations below 1,600 meters. Flowering from June to September, this plant produces bright yellow flowers in slender, ascending clusters with delicate ligules 4 to 10 millimeters long. Growing with erect stems 20 to 150 centimeters tall, it has a distinctive milky sap and generally develops a single stem from the base. Its alternate leaves range from 2 to 20 centimeters long, typically ovate in shape with entire or toothed edges and occasionally few-lobed near the petiole base. The fruit is pale brown, curved, and fusiform, measuring 3 to 5 millimeters long with approximately 20 veins.

Habitat: Shady places, disturbed areas

Bloom period: Jun-Sep

Elevation: < 1600 m

Bioregions: NW, SN, GV, CCo, SnFrB, SW

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.