Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon (Tragopogon pratensis)

Synonyms: Tragopogon lamottei, Tragopogon orientalis, Tragopogon pratensis ssp. orientalis

Common Names: Meadow salsify, meadow goat's beard, common goat's beard, showy goat's beard, yellow goatsbeard

Description:

Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon (Tragopogon pratensis), also called meadow salsify, is a Eurasian plant in the daisy family, named for its yellow, dandelion-like flowers that open in the morning and close by midday [1][2]. It grows as a scattered weed in fields, roadsides, meadows, and lawns, and forms big, dandelion-like puffball seed heads [1][3]. MISIN tracks it as a non-native plant to watch, though it is not aggressive and is rarely a serious problem [1].

Habit:

Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon is a biennial ? it lives about two years [1][3]. In its first year it makes a low clump of grass-like, blue-green leaves, so young plants are easy to overlook among grasses [1]. In its second year it sends up a smooth stalk 1 to 3 feet (0.3 to 1 m) tall, swollen where each long, clasping leaf wraps the stem, and topped with a single yellow flower head about 1 to 2 1/2 inches (2.5 to 6 cm) across [1][3]. The flowers open in the morning sun and close by midday ? the trait behind the name [1][3]. Break any part and it bleeds a milky sap [1][3]. By late summer each flower becomes a big, round, dandelion-like puffball of feathery seeds, up to about 3 inches (8 cm) across [1].

It is easiest to spot in late spring and early summer, when the yellow flowers are open in the morning, and again a few weeks later when the oversized puffball seed heads stand out on the stalks [1][3].

At-a-glance cues:

1. Grass-like, blue-green leaves and a smooth stalk, 1 to 3 feet tall, with milky sap [1][3]
2. A single yellow, dandelion-like flower that opens in the morning and closes by midday [1][3]
3. Green bracts behind the flower that reach only to about the tips of the petals [1]
4. A big, round, dandelion-like puffball seed head, up to about 3 inches across [1]

Leaves:

1. Arrangement: alternate, clasping the stem [1][3]
2. Shape: long, narrow, and grass-like (lanceolate to linear), with the tips often curved backward [1][3]
3. Color: blue-green (grey-green) [1]
4. Surface: smooth and hairless, with a milky sap when broken [1][3]

Stems:

1. Habit: biennial; a smooth, rounded flowering stalk 1 to 3 feet (0.3 to 1 m) tall in the second year [1][3]
2. Detail: often swollen where each clasping leaf attaches [1]
3. Sap: exudes a milky latex when cut [1][3]

Flowers:

1. Color: yellow [1][3]
2. Size: heads about 1 to 2 1/2 inches (2.5 to 6 cm) across [1][3]
3. Structure: many yellow ray florets; green bracts behind the head reach only to or just past the petal tips [1]
4. Daily behavior: open in the morning, closed by midday [1][3]
5. Bloom time: late spring through late summer (about May to August) [1][3]

Fruit and seeds:

1. Fruit: a brown, one-seeded achene tapering into a stout beak [1]
2. Pappus: topped with a fluffy, feathery parachute of pale hairs [1][3]
3. Seed head: a large, round, dandelion-like puffball up to about 3 inches (8 cm) across [1]
4. Dispersal: wind-blown, usually landing within about 15 feet (5 m) of the parent plant [1]
5. Seed bank: seeds stay viable only about one to two years [1]

Habitat:

Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon is native to Europe and western and central Asia [2][3]. Introduced to North America, it grows as a scattered weed across much of the continent, almost always in disturbed, sunny, open ground: weedy meadows, pastures, old fields, roadsides, vacant lots, and railroad edges [1][3].

It is a plant of already-disturbed sites and does not push into healthy, undisturbed natural areas the way aggressive invaders do [1].

Reproduction:

Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon spreads only by seed [1]. Each flower turns into a big, dandelion-like puffball, and the feathery seeds ride the wind ? though most land fairly close, within about 15 feet (5 m) of the parent [1]. Seeds also travel in mowed clippings, on vehicles, and in moved soil [1].

A seed sprouts and makes a low, leafy clump the first year, then flowers, sets seed, and dies the second year [1][3]. The good news for control is that the seeds only last a year or two in the soil, so stopping seed production for a couple of years can clear a patch [1]. Pull or cut plants before the puffballs form to keep them from spreading [1].

Impact and Damage:

Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon is a mild weed. It has milky sap but is not poisonous, and it mostly turns up as scattered plants in lawns, gardens, fields, and along roads, where the tall stalks and big puffballs can look untidy [1].

Unlike many invasive plants, it is not aggressive and is not known to significantly harm native plants ? it is rarely abundant and usually grows as scattered individuals in already-disturbed ground [1]. MISIN tracks it as a non-native to watch, but it is a low-concern weed compared with more damaging invaders [1].

Similar species:

A few yellow-flowered, milky-sapped plants are mistaken for Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon ? the bracts behind the flower and the leaf tips are the best clues.

Yellow salsify (Tragopogon dubius) is the closest look-alike, a Eurasian relative with paler yellow flowers whose green bracts stick out well beyond the petals ? meadow salsify's bracts reach only to the petal tips ? and with straight leaf tips rather than curved-back ones [1].

Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius), also called oyster plant, is a close relative grown as a root vegetable, but its flowers are purple rather than yellow.

Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) shares the yellow flower and the puffball seed head, but it stays low, with a rosette of toothed leaves and a hollow, leafless flower stalk, unlike meadow salsify's tall, leafy, grass-like stems and much bigger seed ball.

Monitoring and rapid response:

Signs to watch for:

1. Grass-like, blue-green plants with a single yellow, dandelion-like flower at the tip of a smooth stalk, in fields, roadsides, and disturbed ground in late spring to summer ? the flowers open in the morning and close by midday [1][3]
2. Big, dandelion-like puffball seed heads about 3 inches across, later in summer [1]

What you can do:

1. Dig or pull plants, getting the taproot, before the seed heads form ? this is the key window, since the plant spreads only by seed [1].
2. Snip off and bag any seed heads before they open into puffballs so the wind can't scatter the seeds [1].
3. Repeat cultivation or pulling of new seedlings; because the seed only lasts a year or two, stopping seed for a couple of years can clear a patch [1].
4. Natural-area and land crews can pull or mow small patches before seed set; this plant is not aggressive, so effort is best spent where it competes with plantings you want to protect [1].

When to call a professional:

1. Only for large infestations mixed into pasture or cropland where hand control isn't practical [1]
2. For chemical control options, contact a licensed applicator or your local cooperative extension office.

Report sightings to MISIN. Help track this species' spread by submitting observations through the MISIN web site or the MISIN mobile app (Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS). Photos at multiple angles paired with a precise GPS location are the most valuable data for confirming new occurrences and triggering rapid-response review.

Credits:

1. University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension. Yellow Goatsbeard, Tragopogon spp. hort.extension.wisc.edu
2. Plants of the World Online (Kew). Tragopogon pratensis L. powo.science.kew.org
3. NC State Extension. Tragopogon pratensis (Meadow Salsify). plants.ces.ncsu.edu

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