E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Hypochaeris glabra L.
smooth cat's-ear (smooth catsear)
Asteraceae (Aster family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Val George  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #58472)

E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Hypochaeris glabra
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Species Information

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General:
Annual herb from a taproot; stems erect, solitary or more often several, simple or sparingly branched, minutely bristly or glabrous, exuding milky juice when broken, 10-40 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves well-developed, oblanceolate, entire or lobed, glabrous to fringed on the margins, 2.5-15 cm long and 7-35 mm wide; stem leaves lacking or if present then minute and bractlike.
Flowers:
Heads with strap-shaped flowers, solitary to many in a terminal, flat-topped inflorescence; involucres 8-10 mm tall, 0.5-1.5 cm wide, increasing to 17 mm tall in fruit; involucral bracts spirally arranged, lanceolate, glabrous; ray flowers yellow.
Fruits:
Achenes nerved with minute projections, 4-5 mm long, inner ones with a well-developed beak as long as the body; pappus double, the inner ones of feathery bristles, the outer ones shorter and usually merely finely-barbed.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Roadsides, pastures and waste areas in the lowland zone; frequent in SW BC, known from S Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands; introduced from Europe.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Hypochaeris glabra

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 122 210 275
Slope Gradient (%) 2 30 60
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
60 177 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
0 1 6
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
D
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
32
Modal BEC Zone Class
CDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: CDF(4), CWH(2)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References