Here are some plants that look like dandelion leaves so much, you might have a hard time picking them apart!
Plants that look like dandelion leaves can be confusing, and it is essential to know how to spot them easily, so you don’t end up picking the wrong one.
Plants That Look Like Dandelion Leaves
1. Cat’s Ear
Botanical Name: Hypochaeris radicata
This plant’s foliage is similar to a cat’s ears, and also to the dandelion, thanks to the pointy edges. You can spot it in grasslands, waterways, or vineyards.
2. Rough Hawkbit
Botanical Name: Leontodon hispidus
Second on the list of plants that look like Dandelion leaves is rough hawk
bit, and the ‘rough’ to its name is because of serrated edges on the leaf. It also grows yellow flowers.
3. Autumn Hawkbit
Botanical Name: Scorzoneroides autumnalis.
Autumn Hawkbit is a low to medium-growing plant with a branching stems and narrow toothed leaves that resemble dandelions quite a lot!
4. Prickly Lettuce
Botanical Name: Lactuca serriola
Prickly Lettuce leaves have elongated stems with wavy margins and a slightly prickly texture. It can be mistaken as dandelions in the early stage.
5. Wild Chicory
Botanical Name: Cichorium intybus
This plant’s leaves have a resemblance to that of dandelion’s when they are young, but get irregularly toothed to deeply lobed, unlike dandelions, when fully grown.
6. Sow Thistle
Botanical Name: Sonchus oleraceus
You can easily confuse this one with the plant in question, thanks to the leaf structure and especially the flowers. The resemblance dies when the plant matures.
7. Hawkbit
Botanical Name: Leontodon spp.
If you look at Hawkbit, it will surely give you dandelion vibes. It typically has narrow, oblong leaves, which people use to treat digestive disorders, too.
8. Yellow Hawkweed
Botanical Name: Pilosella caespitosa
While both of them share some visual similarities, particularly in their rosettes, the leaves of yellow hawkweed are generally more elongated and lance-shaped as compared to the more rounded leaves of dandelions.
9. Meadow Hawkweed
Botanical Name: Hieracium caespitosum
This one is an invasive weed that grows in the same way as dandelion, but varies in shape if looked closely. They look quite the same from a distance though!
10. Wild Lettuce
Botanical Name: Lactuca virosa
Wild lettuce looks quite similar to dandelions with yellow blooms, along with stiffer and coarser leaves. A close inspection will give it away easily!
11. Groundsel
Botanical Name: Senecio Vulgaris
Groundsel is often confused with dandelions due to its yellow flowers and lanceolate leaves. You can spot it along roadsides, waste areas, and sunny gardens.
12. Narrowleaf Hawksbeard
Botanical Name: Crepis tectorum
Narrow leaf Hawksbeard may look like dandelion at the first glance, but has narrower leaves. This plant is non-poisonous and common in lawns and backyards.
13. Coltsfoot
Botanical Name: Tussilago farfara
Coltsfoot can easily trick you with its dandelion-like yellow flowers and leaves but look closely and you can distinguish it with its teeth-like edged foliage.
Note: Avoid eating it due to chemicals called hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids that can damage the liver and lungs.
