Goat's Beard

The Goat's Beard has some similarities to Chicory, the blog post before this one. It is sensitive to light, and the root has also been roasted and used as a coffee like drink. I went out early this weekend to pick raspberries and then walked about in a field close by to see if any interesting flowers were blooming. In my search I found this handsome flower. If you only glance at this flower you may mistake it for the Dandelion, but (don't tell the Dandelion) I think this flower is much more handsome. The dark headed stamen and the sepals that are longer than the petals make this a more interesting flower to look at. This is the first flower I photographed ( to your right) as I started through the field... as time went by I found others, but they were all partially closed.... it was then that I remembered  that this is another of the flowers that close up by noon. It is written that in times past, in England and France, farmers would watch these flowers to know when it was lunch time. Now, you and I know that any farmer could just look over head, or even just look at his shadow and know it was noon, but watching the flowers does make for a more romantic story.

Where I found it : in a field

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