Looks like some type of lettuce (Lactuca spp.). I've always called leaves like that "spiny" or "spiny pointed."
hortster

Thanks, Hortster. Spiny. Yes.

I've been through all the Lactuca ssp. on the USDA site and will go check the base of the plant for details mentioned in:

Manual of the flora of the northern states and Canada
By Nathaniel Lord Britton (link below in text).

However, Britton makes one observation that seems to rule out Lactuca ssp.: "Rays truncate and 5-toothed at the summit."

The rays of my flowers are blunt, not toothed.

http://books.google.com/books?id=UTS1AAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_slider_thumb#v=onepage&q&f=false

Here is a link that might be useful: USDA Lactuca ssp. Thumbnails

I checked the base of the plant. There are no indications of it's being a lactuca. It isn't a solidago. There are no yellow asters.

Can anyone tell me how to search for thumbnails of DYCs?

Google Images search for "Damned Yellow Composites" resulted in 28k hits so you may find it here:

Here is a link that might be useful: DYC thumbnails

I just saw this flower blooming also in North Georgia. I'll be trying to figure it out too.

Hieracium paniculatum looks to be the closest thing I've found.

One day I didn't check my mail and see what I missed! A fellow sleuth! Hieracium paniculatum is indeed a strong candidate! I never even saw it in my searches. Well done!

There's one thing bothering me --above I told Hortster, "Britton makes one observation that seems to rule out Lactuca ssp.: 'Rays truncate and 5-toothed at the summit.'" I was WRONG! Luckily, my cam has keener sight, b/c the petals do have 5 teeth. I've uploaded 9 more photos and the 1st shows the teeth. (Link above.)

I wish I knew how to post large photos here as you do.

Anyway, there is only one lactuca that it might be, Lactuca floridana var. villosa, but I couldn't find any further information.

The most helpful site I found for Hieracium paniculatum is below, in text, a pdf.

It says that the undersides of the leaves are glaucous (mine are not) and that "hairs at the base of the stem and on the lower leaves are 3-10 mm long or longer." I haven't looked yet for hairs on the lower leaves, let alone measured them! LOL

Of course, we could be looking at different plants, which would be no fun at all.

http://web4.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/abstracts/botany/Hieracium_paniculatum.pdf

Here is a link that might be useful: Lactuca floridana var. villosa

I do think we are looking at the same plant - when I saw it, I immediately recognized it from your pictures! Luckily you can look at yours again and again - I didn't even have a camera with me.

Great timing --my post and your sighting! It's a charming plant, I think.

But oh, doncha hate it when that happens? And with me, there's always somebody saying, "C'mon, hurry up! It's just a weed."

Did you see any notches in the petals? Can you see them in my photo?

Did you notice if the leaf undersides were glaucous?

I did not look at the undersides of the leaves. But there definitely were tiny teeth on the leaf - not a lot, just a few on each side, well spaced.

Yes, it is a charming plant, I agree.

Tulsa Rose --OK, now this is the 5th time I've tried to thank you here! Other times it didn't show up and just now my browser froze up LOL. Thank you!

Esh_ga --I think maybe I'll try the UBC site.

Congratulations, Esh! Saltcedar said that glaucousity is "probably one of the most variable characteristics in plants", so Hieracium paniculatum it is! Well done!

I had a feeling I might be being a bit pitbull-ish, but I lacked the knowledge that gave me license to ignore that evidence.

Good to know. I thought it was too "pretty" to be a Lactuca. ;)