44. Picris L. (ox-tongue)

Plants annual, biennial, or perennial herbs. Latex white. Stems solitary to several, often well branched above the midpoint, erect to loosely ascending, finely ridged, pubescent with some or all of the hairs barbed at the tip with 2–4 minute, spreading to recurved branches from a knoblike tip (also usually somewhat enlarged at the base). Leaves alternate and basal, mostly more than 3 times as long as wide, not grasslike, sessile or the basal ones tapered to a short or long petiole, the basal leaves often present at flowering, the stem leaves sessile, with a pair of rounded or pointed basal lobes, more or less clasping the stem. Leaf blades mostly unlobed, those of the basal leaves oblanceolate to oblong-lanceolate or rarely ovate; those of the stem leaves oblong-lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate or linear; the margins entire or with spreading, triangular teeth and rounded sinuses, sometimes somewhat wavy or corrugated, the surfaces pubescent with some or all of the hairs barbed at the tip with 2–4 minute, spreading to recurved branches from a knoblike tip (also usually somewhat enlarged at the base). Venation of 1 main vein and sometimes also a faint network of arching or anastomosing secondary veins. Inflorescences mostly open panicles, the heads solitary or in small clusters at the branch tips. Involucre not or only slightly elongated at fruiting, cup-shaped to bell-shaped or somewhat urn-shaped, the bracts in 1 long, inner series and 2 or 3 shorter, outer series, pubescent with some or all of the hairs barbed at the tip with 2–4 minute, spreading to recurved branches from a knoblike tip, those of the inner series 13–18, all similar, narrowly lanceolate to narrowly oblong-lanceolate; those of the outer series 7–13, ranging from much shorter than to more than 1/2 as long as the inner series, lanceolate to elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, the margins sometimes thin and pale, the tip mostly loosely ascending at flowering. Receptacle naked, sometimes shallowly pitted at the base of each floret. Ligulate florets 30–50 per head. Corollas bright yellow, sometimes reddish-tinged on the outer surface. Pappus of numerous bristles, these smooth or microscopically barbed, white to straw-colored, often shed as an intact unit after the fruits mature. Fruits with the body nearly narrowly oblong-elliptic to oblong-oblanceolate in outline and at least the outermost often somewhat curved, somewhat flattened in cross-section (irregularly oval in cross-section), not beaked, the pappus attached to an unmodified or only slightly expanded tip, finely 5–10-nerved, the surface also cross-wrinkled or cross-ridged, yellowish brown to reddish brown or dark brown. About 40 species, Europe, Asia, Africa, introduced widely elsewhere.