Fruit & Vegetables A Beginners Guide to Edible Weeds

Catsear doing what they do best! © JPM, 2022.

Yes, that's right! Dandelion has a weedy, edible doppelganger!

Names

Hailing from the genus Hypochaeris (H.), sometimes spelled Hypochoeris (especially by our American friends), this very common weed plagues lawns, fields, footpaths, sidewalk and driveway cracks the world over. It is widely referred to as catsear, due to the angled shape and 'fur' on its flat leaves. It's low profile, often safely underneath mower blades, gives it another common name of flatweed. It is also regularly called false dandelion, as its uncanny resemblance to Taraxacum officinale makes this clone very difficult to distinguish. There are several hundred species, not all of which are naturalised in Australia but occur abundantly in other continents of the world. The most frequently encountered species found in Australia are the common catsear (H. radicata); the white-flowered catsear (H. albiflora); and the smooth-leaved catsear (H. glabra).

Habitat and Range

Catsear has roughly the same habits as dandelion, preferring to be first coloniser of disturbed ground in temperate and subtropical regions. It will be found abundantly in sidewalk and driveway cracks, footpaths, nature strips, public parks and fields. It is abundantly present in agricultural areas, eagerly popping up at the verge of crop rows and drainage ditches. It can also be found amongst dry eucalyptus forest, although other natives tend to out-compete it in this environment.

Figure 1. Distribution of Hypochaeris (all species) around the continent. Atlas of Living Australia.


Identification

Key Identifying Features

• Grows from a branched taproot
• Generally grows with a low, flat profile in a distinct basal rosette
• Leaves are 5-25 cm in length, significantly ribbed
• Leaves are thick with prominent fuzz (hairs are reduced/absent on H. glabra)
• Flower stalks are rigid, tough and branched
• Flower stalks are always green (never red or brownish)
• Multiple flowers occur on branched stalks, although only one flower per branch
• Flowers have a prominent central 'eye'
• Pollinated flowers turn into 'puffballs' virtually identical to dandelion puffballs
• All parts of the plant bleed white latex when cut or damaged

Catsear is, in almost all respects, virtually identical to dandelion and regularly misidentified as its close weedy relative. There are a few telltale features, however, to distinguish them. Firstly, catsear has thicker, fleshy, hairy leaves which are completely green (dandelion leaves have less noticeable fuzz and may turn red near the taproot end). Like dandelion, it grows in that distinctive basal rosette foliage pattern.

Figure 2. Overall catsear (H. radicata) plant profile, displaying the 'basal rosette'. This is a fairly large specimen, certainly one of the largest I have encountered. © JPM, 2022.


Figure 3. Excellent example of the 'basal rosette' leaf pattern and flat profile on this nature strip lawn (H. radicata). © JPM, 2022.


Figure 4. Example of white-flowered catsear (H. albiflora) plant profile. Atlas of Living Australia. © J. Bailey, 2018.


Figure 5. Closeup of the thick, furry leaves of common catsear (H. radicata). © JPM, 2022.


Figure 6. Cut leaf stem of H. radicata. There was no evident latex so I will have to redo this photo to show that. © JPM, 2022.


Secondly, catsear has flower stalks which branch into multiple flower heads. These stalks are always green in colour (dandelion stalks can become red-brown, especially as they set their puffballs, and never branch). Branching flower stalks is one of the key differences to true dandelion and will help most novice weed foragers identify catsear quickly.

Figure 7. Catsear (H. radicata, pictured) always has branching flower stalks. This is the key distinguishing feature from dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). © JPM, 2022.


Figure 8. Both catsear (H. radicata, pictured below) and dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) have hollow flower stalks. Catsear stalks are very tough and rigid, however, and sometimes their hollowness is not apparent so that they seem to be solid. Dandelion has softer, hollow flower stems. © JPM, 2022.


Thirdly, catsear flowers often have a discernible, central 'eye' feature which is usually absent in dandelion. Flowers of most species of Hypochaeris are usually golden yellow, with H. albiflora of course being white. Flowers set into puffballs virtually identical to dandelion (if anything, catsear puffballs are slightly darker in colour than dandelion).

Figure 9. Unfurled petals can give catsear (H. radicata) flowers a prominent central 'eye'. Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) can also exhibit this, but I find it is less common on them. © JPM, 2022


Figure 10. Example of white-flowered catsear (H. albiflora), also with central eye (bottom left). Branching flower stalks also clear. Atlas of Living Australia. © A.N. Schmidt-Lebuhn, 2015.


Figure 11. Catsear (H. radicata) puffballs are virtually identical to that of dandelion. © JPM, 2022.


Lastly, catsear taproots seem far more prone to branching/forking when compared to dandelion, the latter usually having taproots which are one solid, fleshy tuber.

Figure 12. Catsear taproot, clearly a mangle of forks. I thought this specimen was reminiscent of ginseng 'little man' taproots. © JPM, 2022.


Figure 13. The same taproot washed & scrubbed, reading for cooking, with an additional sample. © JPM, 2022.


Culinary Uses

Catsear can be used in similar ways to dandelion: add fresh leaves from young plants to salads for a bitter bite. Apelian (2021: 48) remarks that plunging leaves in a cold salt water bath does wonders for improving their otherwise bland flavour. I have steamed the leaves and added them to sandwich fillings like tuna & mayo, or egg & mayo. I have always found catsear to be as, if not more, bitter than dandelion so its taste is probably not for every palate. I find the bitterness disappears completely when it is chopped or blitzed into other foods like quiche or soup.

Flowers may be eaten whole, added to salads, or battered and deep fried tempura-style for a delicious afternoon snack. The flower petals can be used as tea. The petals are sweet and have the best flavour of the whole plant.

Roots may be roasted until crisp and ground into a powder for use as a diuretic coffee substitute (the colour looks like coffee, not the flavour). Due to their splayed nature, roots might also do well being pounded, battered and fried tempura style, but I have found that they tend to have far more woody cores than dandelion. Young plants are always more tender, both in leaves and roots.

Medicinal Uses

Catsear has no published medicinal benefits. Apelian (2021: 48) mentions in passing it could possibly be used as a detoxifier and digestive aid, as well as helping to stabilise blood-sugar levels. Like dandelion root, it is a probable source of inulin and lecithin.

Look-alikes

Catsear very much resembles dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), as covered above, as well as other plants of the Asteraceae family: sow thistle (Sonchus spp.), hawksbit (Leontodon taraxacoides), oxtongue (Helminthotheca echioides), young wild lettuces (Lactuca serriola, L. virosa and L. saligna) as well as the native yam daisy/murnong (Microseris scapigera). As covered in the article on dandelion, all of these lookalikes are edible so the risk of misidentification is minimal.

Caution

Catsear in Australia is allegedly home to an unidentified fungus which apparently causes neurological damage in horses and is responsible for stringhalt, a movement disorder involving uncontrolled hypertension (pulling up) of the hind legs of our large equine friends (Huntington et al., 1989). It is advised to keep catsear numbers low in fields where horses graze regularly. Cattle may also be affected, but to a lesser extent. More evidence is required to determine if this phenomenon also neurologically affects humans who consume this plant, but Diego Bonetto has been eating it for decades without ill effect.

Further Reading

Apelian (2021), Forager's Guide, p. 48
Atlas of Living Australia, "Hypochaeris albiflora." [LINK]
Atlas of Living Australia, "Hypochaeris glabra." [LINK]
Atlas of Living Australia, "Hypochaeris radicata." [LINK]
Bonetto (2021), "How to Identify Flatweed and Cat's Ear, and Use them in your Recipes." [LINK]
Deane, G. (2012), "False Dandelion for Lunch." [LINK]
Huntington, P.J. et al. (1989), "Australian Stringhalt - epidemiological, clinical and neurological investigations." Equine Veterinary Journal 21(4): 266-273. [LINK]
HorseDVM (n.d.), "Australian Stringhalt." [LINK]
Low (1991), Wild Herbs, p. 27.