Common andryala
Andryala integrifolia
Family · Asteraceae · Harmless
The yellow composite covered in white wool that fills verges and sandy ground in high summer. The whole plant looks dusted, and that is the sign that separates it from dozens of similar yellows.
Where it grows
Roadsides and waste ground · Fields and pasture · Pine woods · Dunes and sand
Also known aswoolly hawkweed
In flower
How to tell it
Dense white wool over the whole plant, which comes off on your fingers. Pale yellow heads grouped in a flat-topped cluster, with woolly bracts too. Entire or barely lobed leaves.
What it is confused with
No dangerous lookalikes known in the Iberian Peninsula.
What it is for
No relevant use. It is a good indicator of poor sandy soil, and one of the few plants flowering in August on dry ground.