Rosette of cats ear leaves or false dandelion

distribution map of cats ear weed and false dandelion in Australia

Catsear (Hypochoeris radicata).

Name: Gilba Solutions Pty Ltd
Price range: $

Catsear Weed is also known as Flatweed or False Dandelion due to its close resemblance to Dandelions.

After you read this, you will be able to:

Identify False Dandelion, Catsear Weed or Flatweed .
Know the habitat of Catsear, Dandelion or Flatweed.
Know the best cultural and chemical options to control this weed.

Thanks to The Atlas of Living Australia for the distribution map of Catsear in Australia.

Why is Catsear a Problem Weed?

Catsear is common in lawns.
At high density, Catsear interferes with grass growth.
It looks unsightly.
Catsear interferes with the growth of native species.
It has a deep taproot that helps it to survive in drought conditions.
It is toxic to horses and causes stringhalt.

Weeds Confused with Catsear.

Catsear is a rosette type weed and during its vegetative stages, you can confuse it with Dandelion, Capeweed, Sowthistle and Fleabane.

Plant	Rosette	Annual or Perennial	Stems	Leaves	Flower Colour	Comments
Capeweed	Yes	Annual	Several branched stems with small hollow core	Hairy undersides	Yellow with black centre
Dandelion	Yes	Perennial	Single unbranched and hollow. Leafless or have minimal leaves.	Deeply toothed or lobed (point backwards) and emit a milky sap when broken.	Single Yellow flower per stalk, made of many small florets	When the stem or leaves are cut exudes sap. Open up when the sun is out, and then close at night.
Catsear	Yes	Perennial	Multiple, branched.Leafless or have minimal leaves.	Club shaped and sometimes hairy	Yellow. Made up of numerous tightly packed florets.	Catsear has milky sap in its stems and leaves.Needs sunlight for the flowers to open in the morning. Once open can't close for at least 3 hours.
Gazania	Yes	Annual	Leafless flower stem	Hairless on the upper surface, woolly white hairy underneath.	Yellow
Fleabane	Yes	Annual, Biennial or short lived Perennial	Starts as a rosette and then grows tall, upright flower stems.	Elongated with bluntly toothed to deeply lobed margins.	Small tufted white daisy like flowers
Oriental Hawksbeard	Yes	Annual	Single leafy, branched main stem.	Hairy and emit a milky sap	Yellow
Sowthistle	Yes	Annual	Has branched, hollow stalks	Adult leaves are serrated and deeply lobed with a major triangle-shaped lobe at the tip of the leaf.	Yellow with several flowers per stalk	Open up when the sun is out, and then close at night.

False Dandelion is a perennial edible weed, and an indicator weed of well drained soil.

More information on turf weeds is in our weed ID chart.

How to Identify Catsear.

False Dandelion is a low growing perennial weed and has basal rosette of wavy edged leaves. Over these leaves there is a cover of raised stiff, and unbranched hairs.

Catsear grows from a thick taproot, and each plant has from 1 to 15 stems that arise from the rosette in the Spring. The stems are erect and typically branched but leafless.

Category: Broadleaf (Dicot).

Photosynthetic Pathway: C3 Weed.

Flower: Catsear Weed has bright yellow flowers that produce seeds that spread by the wind.

Height: False Dandelion grows up to a height of 80 cm.

Leaf length: The leaves of False Dandelion are 2 to 30 cm long.

Leaf width: The leaf width is 10 to 40 mm wide.

Reproduction: Catsear reproduces from seed.

Comments: Coarse hairs cover the leaves that have toothed edges. It also has milky sap in its stems and the flower heads consist entirely of florets (i.e. they don’t have an ‘eye’ to the flower).

Habitat: False Dandelion favourrs bare, thin, wet areas and disturbed soil. It has some degree of salt tolerance, and is very common in parks, gardens, paths, lawns, roadsides, disturbed sites, waste areas, crops and pastures.

How to Remove Catsear From Your Lawn.

You can use cultural and chemical means to remove Catsear Weed from your lawn and turf. Autumn is an ideal time carry out control of this perennial weed.

Cultural Control of Catsear.

Dense, well-fertilised turf grass deters the germination of this weed.
Hand removal. Remove the plant below the crown in the early Spring. Remove and destroy flower heads before they seed, because if buds or flowers are present when you dig it up, this weed will still seed. Do not compost buds or flowers. Once you remove the crown, the plant cannot grow back.
Grass selection (turf seed or vegetative) also plays an important role in managing this weed. The wrong grass type for your climate or situation and it will struggle, become thin and then create conditions that favour Catsear.
Mow at the correct height for your turf. If you mow too low, this favours False Dandelion and stimulates flower growth.

Chemical Control of Catsear.

Post Emergent Herbicides.

Herbicides that contain 2,4-D, Clopyralid, Dicamba, and MCPA give good control of Catsear weed. You get the best results if you treat this in the Autumn when the plant is young.

Suitable products include:

2,4-D. This tends to burn the top of Caltrop but it then grows back.
Warhead Trio. Safe on Buffalo grass.
Contra M herbicide. Don’t use Contra M on Buffalo grass.
MCPA.
Weed Blast MA. Safe on Buffalo grass.
Casper Turf. Casper Turf is registered in South Africa at 600 to 800g/Ha for this weed. Don’t use Casper Turf on Buffalo grass.
Dicamba. Don’t use Dicamba on Buffalo grass.

Rates of Post Emergent Herbicides for Catsear.

Product	Active	Chemical Group	Rate/Ha	Comments
2,4-D	2,4-D	4	1.8-3.2	Wet foliage thoroughly. DO NOT mow lawn for 1 week before and at least 1 weed after application. DO NOT use on Buffalo grass (WA only).
Casper	Prosulfuron + Dicamba	2 and 4	800g-1Kg	Apply from Autumn to Spring. Use high rates in cool months or if high weed pressure. Control takes 4 to 6 weeks. Use an NIS at a rate of 0.25 to 0.5% v/v.
Contra M.	Dicamba + MCPA	4	6.5 L	Apply in 250-400L water. DO NOT use on Buffalo grass. After use do not mow for 2 days before or after application or fertilize within two weeks.
Dicamba	Dicamba	4	1.2L + 3.2L of 2,4-D Amine 625g/L	Use a minimum of 1000L/Ha water. Do not spray on Buffalo or Bent Grass.
MCPA	MCPA	4	930ml -1.8L	Apply in high volume to actively growing weeds. DO NOT mow for 2 days before application. Some transitory damage may occur to fine turf grasses
Warhead	MCPA + Clopyralid + Diflufenican	4 + 12	5 L	You may see discolouration on kikuyu, carpet grass and Queensland blue. Avoid overlapping. Use an NIS.
Weed Blast MA	Bromoxynil + MCPA	6 + 4	3-6L	Apply in a minimum of 500L/Ha water. DO NOT mow for 2 days after treatment.

Non Selective Control of Catsear.

Glufosinate-ammonium provides control for 4 to 6 weeks, but False Dandelion regrows due to the limited movement of glufosinate.
Glyphosate. You can use Glyphosate but if water quality is an issue then use ProForce Manta Ray.

The following are non-selective but also have a long term residual and stop re-growth of Catsear Weed.

Renegade. Renegade stops seed germination for up to 12 months, and reduces the need for multiple herbicide applications.
Numchuk Quad. This gives effective post and pre emergent False Dandelion control for up to 12 months.
Cortex Duo. Cortex Duo gives a rapid knockdown of Catsear, and residual control for up to 3 months. It is also safe to use around trees.