Nipplewort, Lapsana communis

Common Name: Nipplewort

Lapsana communis, more commonly known as Nipplewort, is a species of flowering plant in the sunflower family. It is native to Europe and southwestern Asia. and widely naturalized in other regions including North America.

It is an annual or perennial herbaceous plant growing to 1 - 1.2 m tall, with erect, hairy branching stems and clear (not milky) sap. The leaves are alternate and spirally arranged; the larger leaves at the base of the flowering stem are often pinnate, with a large oval terminal leaflet and one to four small side leaflets, while smaller leaves higher on the stem are simple oval; all leaves have toothed margins.

The flowers are yellow, produced in a capitulum (flower head) 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) diameter, the capitula being numerous in loose clusters at the top of the stem. The eight to fifteen florets are pale yellow and shaped like a tongue with a five-toothed tip. Each has five stamens and a gynoecium composed of two fused carpels. The fruit is a cypsela surrounded by the hardened remains of the involucral bracts. The numerous small seeds are retained in the cypsela until the plant is shaken by the wind or a passing animal. Nipplewort is found growing in arable fields, woods, hedges, roadsides, wasteland, hedgerows, woodland margins and clear-felled areas in forests.

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