Tragopogon dubius (Yellow goatsbeard)

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Tragopogon dubius Scop.

Yellow goatsbeard, yellow salsify, western salsify, western goat’s-beard, wild oysterplant, yellow goat’s beard, goat’s beard, goatsbeard, common salsify, salsify

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Asterales	Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies
Family	Asteraceae	The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers
Genus	Tragopogon	Derived from two Greek words tragos meaning “goat” and pogon meaning “beard,” suggested by its prominent, feathery hairs when in seed
Species	dubius	Doubtful, as in the sense of not conforming to a pattern

About plant names...

Yellow salsify is native to southern and central Europe and western Asia. It was introduced in the early 1900s to North America, where it has spread widely. In many areas it is considered an invasive. It grows almost anywhere there is ample sunlight and medium to dry conditions, though plants are usually scattered, not densely clustered.

Plants: Plants are biennial. They appear as a basal rosette in the first year, producing a stem 8-24" (20-60 cm) high and flowering in the second year. Broken stems and leaves exude a milky latex.

Leaves: Lanceolate, alternate, with no teeth, ⅜-12" (1-30 cm) long, tapering to a sharp tip.

Flowers: Flowers are 1½-2" (4-6 cm) in diameter, forming from tall, tapered, blue-green buds. Flowers open in the morning and close in the afternoon. They appear from late spring to early summer. Sharp, starlike green bracts appear behind the flowerhead, and are longer and more prominent than in other salsifies.

Fruits: Produces a round pappus (seedhead) up to 4" (10 cm) around, similar to dandelions. The seedhead is like a pincushion filled with of achenes, each ⅞-1½" (2.5-4 cm) long, equipped with its own tiny “pararchute.”

Edibility: Roots are technically edible, cooked or even raw, but the plant is not generally consumed. The roots are said to taste similar to oysters, hence the common name wild oysterplant.

Online References:

Illinois Wildflowers

The New England Wildflower Society’s GoBotany site

Wikipedia

The USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

Oregon State University

Minnesota Wildflowers

SEINet—the Southwest Environmental Information Network