Dandelions & grass have been outcompeted by something like dandelions but spindlier/more prostrate

[mytortoiseisill]

Hi,
I have another thread going about the health of my parents’ tortoise.
Two issues are (1)pine needles on lawn and (2) previously plentiful lawn dandelions being outcompeted by another flower that looks like a dandelion but isn’t. Garden has got hotter and drier over past 40 years. The “not dandelions” were always there in front garden but have taken over the back.

I’m sorry for lack of photo but I’m not there just now -have some human health issues to deal with.
Can anyone suggest what plant the replacement dandelion might be and I’ll see if it’s tortoise-safe/tortoise nutritious
Thank you

Does cats ear sound plausible?

Maybe fox and cubs, they tend to take over :)

is it Tansy? They have flowers a bit like Dandelions (but smaller) and can grow quite high and spindly. if so, i did a google search and it sounds like it's toxic and not safe for tortoise

Thank you for replying.
It’s not fox and Cubs - I know that from my own garden.
The flowers are the same yellow as dandelion

No, not tansy.
The leaves are more dandelion-like, (it is prostrate hence crowding out the grass)

Aha - “false dandelion” it is!

“False dandelion” seems to be a name for cats-ear, but that hairy leaves. Another possibility is autumn hawkbit which has smooth dandelion like leaves

Ah,thank you. So the quest continues!
I will take a picture when I’m there next and repost on this thread.

If it’s something in the dandelion/cats ear/autumn hawk it family, we’ll need close-ups of the leaves so we can see the shape and whether it has hairs on it, is the stem branched or not, are there any leaves or tiny scales on the stem, and a side view of the flower to see the shape of the stem as it goes into the involucre - the green bit behind the flower head.

Remember that dandelion and the rest are in the Asteraceae family, which used to be called Compositae, because what looks like a flower is composed of dozens of tiny flowers - each “petal” is a flower in its own right, complete with sexual parts, eg stamens. Most easily seen on something big like a dahlia. So that’s why the green bit is called an involucre rather than sepals or a calyx, because it’s enclosing a whole flower head not a single flower.