Dandelions, Daisies and Thistles: sorting the look-alikes

Join a practical field study at Tyland Barn to sort the look-alikes in the Asteraceae, the largest family of flowering plants. This Study Day with Kent Wildlife Trust helps you get to grips with the basic features that separate daisies, dandelions and thistles from their many look-alikes. Beginning with an accessible review of key floral traits, the session focuses on those characters that help distinguish genera and species across this diverse group.

After the introductory morning, the rest of the day is spent exploring local habitats at a leisurely pace to practise identification skills in the field. You will learn to tell apart thistle look-alikes, mayweeds and chamomiles, and hawkbits and hawkweeds, using a hand lens to study the key floral features. By the end of the day you should be able to approach the major genera and species of our Asteraceae with confidence. Photo credit: Carline Thistle (Vaughn Matthews). For further information, please visit the Study Days page of the Kent Wildlife Trust website.