Western Goatsbeard: The 107th Flower of Spring & Summer! [Explore #31]

I have always loved this flower from the first time I saw it growing on our property. The sharp-looking green sepals are so cool-looking and the blossoms are just beautiful! After the flowers die away, they create the biggest "dandelion heads" I've ever seen! (I'll have pictures of these too in the coming weeks) It was hard to resist taking zillions of pictures and I managed to get so many nice ones that I've shown three more below. I'd love to know which is your favorite! :)

Western Goatsbeard is native to most of Europe and western Asia and was introduced to North America, where it can be found almost everywhere in the United States and Canada. In fact, it's considered to be an invasive weed because it grows so readily and is difficult to irradicate once established. The root and stems are edible but this species is usually not used as a source of food. Other species, especially a lovely purple variety known as Oyster Plant, were once cultivated in the Mediterranean as an important vegetable as well as a traditional herbal medicine. Western Goatsbeard is not known to have any medicinal qualities.

If you would like to know more about this flower, Wiki has a very nice page here: Wiki: Goatsbeard (Tragopogon dubius)

Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :)

Explored on August 7, 2012, placement at #340.