Easily confused with : Gallant Soldier, but Gallant Soldier is much less straggly and more upright and bespoke.

Distinguishing Feature : The five (or sometimes only four) white ray florets with large gaps between.

Clain to Fame: Along with Gallant Soldier and Yarrow) this plant has the fewest outer petals of any member of the Daisy and Dandelion Family, totalling a meagre five, apart from those plants which have no outer florets such as Groundsells. Most other members of this family have many more than a dozen outer petals.

No relation to : Water Soldier [a plant with similar name]

Shaggy Soldier is now to be found in the car park of The Hand and Dagger pub, on the Lancaster Canal, which is now a long way from where it originally escaped. It likes bare waste ground, is of shaggy appearance, and possesses five, sometimes only four (hence the latin name), white ray petal-like florets.

It is an unusual compositae (Daisy & Dandelion Family) plant in that it has only five (white) rays, the fewest for any compsite, but many (yellow) inner florets.

ANY TEXT GOES HERE