Invasive Fall Dandelion

Observation: We found a lot of yellow flowers along the road from the airport to town in Levelock. One kind looks like a member of the sunflower family, maybe a hawkweed and we are wondering if this is an invasive. We also found a flowering plant that looks like a dandilion. We are wondering if these are invasive weeds and if so what should be done to manage the plants. Some invasives are harmful to grazing wildlife and they can displace native plants. If there are beneficial uses that would also be good to know. Mike Brubaker

Cooperative Extension Service Consult: Gino Graziano, Invasive Plants program writes, "The plant in picture 1 looks like the native species Northern Goldenrod, Solidago multiradiata. Northern goldenrod is distributed throughout Alaska. In the second picture is an invasive weed known as fall dandelion, Leontodon autumnalis. A biography of the invasive characteristics of fall dandelion is found on the Non-Native Plants Species List. Plants at this website are listed alphabetically by scientific name, click on the green "i" button to view the biography." Committee for Noxious and Invasive Plants Management (CNIPM), University of Alaska Fairbanks