Wildflowers of Ainsworth: Wild Lettuce

(Click on images to enlarge)

It took me forever to identify this stupid plant because I didn't know its blossoms were yellow. I didn't know its blossoms were yellow because 99% of the time, they look like this:



Then just by luck I happened to catch one in the brief moment when it actually blooms. Here's a shot with the flowers in all their stages, left to right: seed puff, yellow blossom, closed green thing.



Here's a close-up of the lower stem and leaves.



An interesting little tidbit: according to the Wikipedia article, this stuff has a mild opium-like effect if eaten.