Greek hypo — under, choiros — pig, a possible allusion to the roots being eaten by pigs.
Annual or perennial herbs, taprooted, hairy. Stems erect or ascending, scape-like. Leaves mostly basal, margins entire to divided, sessile or petiolate. Capitula radiate, terminal, solitary or in loose corymbs, with stalks. Involucral bracts in 3-5 rows, overlapping, unequal. Receptacle with scales, flat. Florets all bisexual, ligulate, yellow. Achenes cylindrical, ribbed, inner usually beaked. Pappus of basally broad, feathery bristles, sometimes of scales or rarely absent. [Hypochoeris L.]
Three species have become naturalised in Australia, mostly in disturbed sites.
Rosetted herbs with all florets ligulate; receptacle with scales.
About 60 species from Europe, North Africa, Asia and South America.
Source: (2002). Dahlia. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 4. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 3. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.