damned yellow composite

{{Short description|Group of flowers}}

[[File:Asteracea poster 3.jpg|thumb|Flowers from twelve species of the family Asteraceae:

1. Yellow chamomile

2. Garland chrysanthemum

3. Coleostephus myconis

4. Garden marguerite

5. Sow thistle

6. Chicory

7. Treasure flower

8. Purple milk thistle

9. Field marigold

10. Ox-eye daisy

11. Common hawkweed

12. Cape daisy]]

A damned or damn yellow composite (DYC) is any of the numerous species of composite flowers (family Asteraceae) that have yellow flowers and can be difficult to tell apart in the field.{{cite book

|title=The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest

|author=Rick Darke

|publisher=Timber Press

|year=2002

|isbn=0-88192-545-4

|pages=377

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bE76-Wjawa0C&pg=PA230

}} page 230{{cite book

|title=Alpine plants of North America: an encyclopedia of mountain flowers from the Rockies to Alaska

|author1=Graham Nicholls |author2=Rick Lupp |author3=Bobby J. Ward |publisher=Timber Press

|year=2002

|isbn=0-88192-548-9

|pages=344

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fDEhdi3G434C&pg=PA145

}} page 145 It is a jocular term, and sometimes reserved for those yellow composites of no particular interest. Notable individuals who referred to these flowers as "DYCs" include Oliver Sacks{{cite book

|title=Oaxaca journal

|author=Oliver W. Sacks

|publisher=National Geographic

|year=2002

|isbn=0-7922-6521-1

|pages=159

}} page 48 and Lady Bird Johnson.{{cite book

|title=Weed 'em and Reap: A Weed Eater Reader

|author=Roger Welsch

|publisher=Globe Pequot

|year=2006

|isbn=0-7627-3907-X

|pages=256

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2pg2Iz5M8CAC&pg=PA172

}} page 172 The U.S. National Park Service provides information to help visitors identify "Darn Yellow Composites".{{cite web |title=Darn Yellow Composites |url=https://www.nps.gov/romo/darn_yellow_composites.htm |website=National Park Service |publisher=nps.gov |access-date=6 October 2022 |date=31 March 2012}}