Not every yellow bloom ― or fluffy white globe ― taking over your backyard is a dandelion. Some of them are close relatives called catsears. But both of them have a little secret. To tell them apart and discover why they’re so successful you need to peek under their petals. Take the PBS Digital Studios Survey: http://to.pbs.org/2020survey SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Gardeners cursing as they yank out yellow blooms from the ground might be misplacing their anger. Not everything that looks like a dandelion is one. Dandelions have many doppelgangers, among them the most successful plant you’ve never heard of: catsears. Bees and butterflies love the nectar and pollen provided by dandelions and catsears, and little songbirds like lesser goldfinches feed on their seeds. But it’s hard to convince some gardeners of their virtues. “Most people who have a nice turf want only grasses,” said Joe DiTomaso, a weed researcher who retired from the University of California, Davis. Whether you’re a friend or a foe, telling dandelions and catsears apart could be useful ― if only to know thine enemy ― and a fun way to ponder what makes these yellow blooms so successful. --- How do you tell if it’s a dandelion? Under a dandelion’s ― and a catsear’s ― petals you’ll see green structures that hold the bloom. They’re called phyllaries. In catsears, they all point up. In dandelions, some phyllaries curl down. Dandelion and common catsear leaves have a similar shape, with toothed edges that give dandelions their name ― an adaptation from the French dent-de-lion, or lion’s tooth. The leaves of the common catsear are more lobed than pointy and they’re furry, while dandelions’ are smooth. Both leaves are edible, prepared in salads or sautéed. One other way to tell them apart is that each stem of catsears branches into multiple blooms, while dandelions have only one bloom per stem. -- What other plants look like dandelions? A plant by the scientific name of Leontodon resembles dandelions so much that it is known as false dandelion. It is also known as lesser hawkbit, said DiTomaso. “Where it’s confusing is its leaves look fairly similar and it has one flower per stem like dandelion, so a lot of people think it’s dandelion,” he said. ---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science: https://www.kqed.org/science/1969214/this-is-not-a-dandelion ---+ More Great Deep Look episodes: Watch This Bee Build Her Bee-jeweled Nest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPbH1YhsdP8 Why Do Tumbleweeds Tumble? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dATZsuPdOnM ---+ Shoutout! 🏆Congratulations🏆 to the following fans on our Deep Look Community Tab for being the first five to correctly explain which flower was a dandelion and which was a catsear! TorterraGrey8 Original Name Ary Mailhos ---+ Thank you to our Top Patreon Supporters ($10+ per month)! Bill Cass Justin Bull Burt Humburg Alex Shebastian Reyes Egg-Roll Josh Kuroda Daniel Weinstein Chris B Emrick Karen Reynolds Daniel Pang Tea Torvinen dane rosseter David Deshpande Daisuke Goto Companion Cube Nathan Z Tianxing Wang luna Kelly Hong Kevin Judge Elizabeth Ann Ditz Laurel Przybylski Gerardo Alfaro Leonhardt Wille Robert Amling Mary Truland Shelley Pearson Cranshaw Supernovabetty Laura Sanborn Sayantan Dasgupta Cindy McGill Pamela Parker Joshua Murallon Robertson monoirre Silvan Wendland Aurora Dia Roberta K Wright Sonia Tanlimco Levi Cai Guillaume Morin Misia Clive Caitlin McDonough Rick Wong Nathan Wright Titania Juang Carlos Carrasco Nicolette Ray Kristy Freeman Alexandre Valdetaro Syniurge Dogman Cristen Rasmussen Geidi Rodriguez Blanca Vides Scott Faunce Noreen Herrington Kallie Moore SueEllen McCann Teresa Lavell Louis O'Neill Aurora Mitchell Sharon Merritt Pushkar Chitale KW Joao Ascensao TierZoo ---+ Follow KQED Science and Deep Look: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deeplook Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kqedscience/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience KQED Science on kqed.org: http://www.kqed.org/science ---+ About KQED KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, radio and web media. Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, the largest science and environment reporting unit in California. KQED Science is supported by The National Science Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Campaign 21 and the members of KQED.