"Agoseris" is Greek for "goat Chicory".

Foothills, montane, subalpine. Meadows. Summer.
Navajo Lake Trail, July 6, 2004.
Fish Creek Trail, July 28, 2000.

The leaf shape is different, the flower color is different, but the resemblance to yellow Dandelions is unmistakable.  Agoseris aurantiaca is far less common than common Dandelions and occurs scattered rather than in large colonies. Look for it tucked into grasses and other wildflowers right at the side of the trail.

Agoseris aurantiaca was first collected for science by Thomas Drummond in the Canadian Rockies in the 1820s; it was named Troximon aurantiacum by William Hooker in his Flora Boreali-Americana in 1833.  It was renamed Agoseris aurantiaca by Edward Greene in 1891 and has endured quite a few other name changes since then.

"Aurantiaca" is Latin for "orange" but the flower color can vary from orange

to the typical rusty orange to lavender to the rare pink.

Foothills, montane, subalpine, alpine.  Meadows.   Summer.
Colorado Trail above Roaring Fork, August 7, 2004.

Agoseris glauca is very similar to Agoseris aurantiaca, but it is a slightly larger plant in leaf, flower, and overall plant size. The quite visible difference is flower color.  Leaves in both species are very similar: long, strap-like, vertical, and frequently red/purple or with a red/purple mid-vein. Cronquist indicates that A. glauca and A. aurantiaca might hybridize.

The plant was first collected by Thomas Nuttall on the banks of the Missouri River in about 1811 and was named Troximon glaucum by Frederick Pursh in 1814 in his Flora Americae Septentrionalis.  It was renamed by Constantine Rafinesque to Agoseris glauca in 1833.  "Glauca" is Greek for "gray".

Foothills, montane, subalpine, alpine.  Meadows.   Summer.
Lizard Head Trail, August 31, 2004; Cross Mountain Trail, August 7, 2004; Cross Mountain Trail, August 7, 2004; Middle Calico Trail, August 9, 2004.

Arched, purple and green phyllaries protect the forming flowers, bright yellow flowers remain open many days, withered flowers again expose the phyllaries, and eventually seeds mature and are topped by a myriad of feathered fluff that will carry the seeds on the winds.