Dwarf Dandelion is a native perennial herb in the aster family found in the southern Appalachian mountains of North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. It is found growing in rocky crevices, rocky woodlands, balds, cliffs, rock barrens and rocky roadsides, at medium to high elevations. Abundant yellow flowers bloom on long, 2 foot stalks, from spring to fall. Usually, there is only one blossom per stalk. Dwarf Dandelion does well with full sun and moist conditions in poor and rocky soil and is often found in gravelly soils, wet mossy crevices on granite cliffs, rock slides, and rocky road banks. Dwarf Dandelion is listed as vulnerable to extinction. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No known diseases or insect pests.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
NC region
Mountains
Mature size
Height: 0 ft. 6 in. - 2 ft. 0 in. | Width: 0 ft. 6 in. - 1 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping; Erect
Leaf color
Gold/Yellow
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Oblanceolate
Leaf margin
Dentate; Lobed
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Most leaves are basal and narrow with a variable shape such as linear, lance-shaped or lobed and toothed like a dandelion. Leaves are 4 to 15 inches long.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; Orange
Flower value
Long Bloom Season; Showy
Flower form
Head
Flower shape
Radial
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
The flowers are solitary, bright yellow-orange petals with fringed tips borne on a long, 20 inch, stem. There can be several heads produced per plant. Leafy green bracts are at the base of the flower head. They consist of rays without center disc flowers. There can be 20 to 60 rays per flower. Blooms from May through September.
Bloom time
Fall; Spring; Summer
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit detail
Oval reddish brown fruits with ridges. While the fruit type is often referred to as achene, it is actually cypsela.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
One to five stems, branched and usually decumbant, green, slender, milky, and mostly smooth.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
South Eastern United States
Distribution
North Carolina south to Georgia, west to Alabama and Tennessee.
Wildlife value
Members of the genus Krigia support the following specialized bee: Andrena (Callandrena s.l.) krigiana