Gazania linearis (gazania) is a clump-forming, spring-flowering perennial, rooting at the nodes, with upright, linear leaves, dark green with a white-woolly undersurface. The flower heads may be up to 10cm across, and are brilliant mixtures of yellow, oranges and reds. A garden escape found on roadsides and wasteland around settlements, especially in coastal areas and the southern wheatbelt. Native to South Africa.

Gazania linearis , PH

Gorteria personata (gorteria) DP is a small, stiff-stemmed annual growing to 20cm high, covered with pale, bristly hairs. The leaves are narrow, slightly lobed near the base of the plant, dark green above but pale below. Each stem is topped by a small yellow and brown flower head with 8 to 10 ray florets. The entire head is enclosed by stiff, spiny bracts that harden into a burr on maturity. Each burr contains three to six seeds. A weed of roadsides, railway lines, townsites, and disturbed woodlands and shrublands between Mingenew, Moora and Meckering. Flowers in spring; native to South Africa.

Gorteria personata , RR

Hedypnois rhagadioloides (Cretan weed) is a sprawling, slightly-hairy annual with somewhat spoon-shaped leaves. In spring, the solitary yellow heads are produced on swollen, hollow stalks. As the fruits mature, the heads become dark brown, club-shaped structures. An inconspicuous and easily overlooked weed of roadsides and disturbed areas, found throughout the south-west. Native to the Mediterranean.

Hedypnois rhagadioloides , PH

Helianthus annuus (sunflower) is an escape from cultivation, occurring on roadsides and wasteland near settlements from Denham to Bunbury and east to the Avon Valley. It is common around Geraldton. H. debilis is a more slender plant, much branched, with rough, reddish stems. The 6cm, bright yellow flower heads with black centres are solitary at the end of long stalks, and are produced through summer and autumn. It occurs on roadsides and wasteland around Perth.
H. tuberosus (Jerusalem artichoke) is an erect perennial to 4m with oval toothed leaves and yellow flower heads with a greenish centre. It is cultivated for its tuberous roots, and has been recorded as escaping in the Perth area. All flower in summer and are native to North America. (See also the somewhat similar Verbesina.)

Helianthus annuus , RR

Helminthotheca echioides (was Picris echioides) (ox tongue) is an upright, bristly annual or short-lived perennial with oval, wavy-edged leaves. The yellow flower heads are produced in spring, borne terminally on short branches. The bracts are bristly, with the outer ones heart-shaped. A weed of disturbed ground near settlement from Perth to the central wheatbelt. Native to the Mediterranean.

Hypochaeris has two species in Western Australia, H. glabra (smooth catsear) and H. radicata (flatweed). They are difficult to tell apart - the Western Australian populations may, in fact, be hybrids - but it is probably not necessary to distinguish them for most practical purposes.

Hypochaeris sp. PM

They are annuals or short-lived perennials, with a basal rosette of leaves and yellow, dandelion-like flower heads (opening in the morning and closing in the afternoon) at the top of slender, leafless stalks. H. glabra is usually annual, with smooth leaves and heads up to 1.5cm across, H. radicata is usually perennial, with rough, bristly leaves and heads up to 3cm across; however, intergrades of all features exist. Common weeds of lawns, horticultural areas, roadsides and bushland throughout the south-west, they can flower all year round, but are most common in spring. Native to Europe.

Hypochaeris sp., RR

Lactuca (lettuce) is a Northern Hemisphere genus of about 70 species, of which two have become naturalised in Western Australia. They are summer-growing annuals with a short-lived basal rosette of leaves and an erect leafy stem, 1-2m tall, repeatedly branching at the top to form an open pyramid of small yellow flower heads. L. saligna (wild lettuce) has narrow, deeply-lobed stem leaves and no prickles, while L. serriola (prickly lettuce) has prickly, deeply lobed leaves and prickly stems. The leaves tend to be held vertically, orientated north/south or east/west. Both are found in crops, pastures, along roadsides and on wasteland and in disturbed bushland throughout the south-west, but prickly lettuce is the most common. It is frequent in horticultural areas at Carnarvon. Native to Europe. Both are occasionally mis-identified as skeleton weed.

Lactuca serriola , RR