Suomi
Svenska
Hawkweed
Hieracium
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Hawkweed is a genus of yellow-flowered plants in the aster family, known for dandelion-like flower heads and tufted, wind-dispersed seeds. It is widespread in many temperate and montane regions and can be seen in open habitats through the main growing season. Many hawkweed species reproduce without fertilization and hybridize, which makes identifying individual species challenging.
Did you know?
- Many hawkweeds reproduce apomictically (without fertilization), creating numerous subtly different lineages.
- Their seeds are achenes topped with a silky pappus, helping them travel on the wind like tiny parachutes.
About the species
Identification
Perennial (sometimes short‑lived) herbs with a basal rosette of leaves and one or more erect, often hairy stems that may carry additional leaves. Leaves are usually lance-shaped to oblong, entire to toothed, and often softly to bristly hairy; plants exude milky sap when cut. Flower heads are bright yellow and composed entirely of strap‑shaped ray florets, borne singly or in loose clusters; the involucre bracts are often dark-tipped or with blackish hairs. Fruits are ribbed achenes topped with a pale pappus for wind dispersal. Hawkweed can be confused with hawksbeards (Crepis), oxtongues (Picris), sow‑thistles (Sonchus), or dandelion (Taraxacum); clues include usually multiple heads per stem, leafy stems, and the often dark, hairy bracts (features vary by species). Flowering generally occurs during the warmer part of the growing season, with timing varying by region and species.
Plant group
Herbaceous plants
Habitat
rock, heath forest, meadow, yards and roadsides, fell
Flowering
Jun–Sep
About the habitat
Hawkweed grows in sunny to lightly shaded, well‑drained places such as meadows, grasslands, heaths, rocky slopes, open woodland edges, and disturbed ground like roadsides and embankments. It tolerates dry to moderately moist, often nutrient‑poor soils from lowlands into mountain zones.
Sources
Photo: Konstantin Ryabitsev from Montréal, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yellow Hawkweed.jpg
Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukonkeltanot
