100 Species #60: Yellow hawkweed

[urbpan]

For a brief time one stretch of the front yard was full of yellow hawkweed (Hieracium sp.) blossoms. Now there are but a smattering.

"Yellow hawkweed" is actually an unknown number of species, somewhere between 800 and ten thousand, depending on which taxonomist you trust. The typical weedy species found in yards and along roadsides are pretty difficult to distinguish from one another. Traits such as relative hairiness, number of blossoms per stem and so on are variable and are known to grade somewhat between species and species complexes. Hawkweeds are closely related to dandelions, chickweeds, and sowthistles. Hawkweeds reproduce asexually, with seeds that produce genetically identical clones of the mother plants, and by spreading and sprouting new plants from the roots. Some Eurasian species of hawkweed are invasive in North America, and all hawkweeds are considered invasive in--and prohibited from importation to--New Zealand.

Someone once asked me if hawks eat this plant. To my knowledge, they do not. Naturalist lore holds that the blooming of hawkweed (whichever species that was first named hawkweed)coincided with the reappearance of migratory hawks. Sounds plausible. I'll always think of yellow hawkweed as a kind of "lesser" Indian paintbrush: Indian paintbrush is common name my mother used for orange hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum).

The patch of hawkweed in my yard covers an area which would otherwise have narrowleaf plantain, or worse, grass. I don't pull the hawkweed, but I don't feel bad mowing over it either.


A small bee benefits from my benign neglect.

Comments

[gemfyre.livejournal.com]

Y'know, I have never heard the term Hawkweed before. We always just call them dandelions, in my part of Australia at least.

Aussie-isms

[vodkanoodles.livejournal.com]

I always thought these were a type of dandylion but know the group - and know MANY others down here do too - as wet-the-bed

i'll leave the obvious urban myth that led to that name off the page ;)

thanks for the info, as always

[elainetyger.livejournal.com]

Can you eat the greens and make wine from the flowers like you can with dandelions?

BTW I love all the 3:00 and 100 species pictures I'm catching up on today. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be you with the vet student, but it's all good. Especially the mouse hole. And (ok I'll stop)

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I gather that hawkweed is not pleasant as an edible, but haven't found any firm information on that.

Thanks for commenting about my many posts today. I never know if they are really out there or not until someone says something. (don't stop)

[weofodthignen]

Ah that's what you call that. I'd thought it was milkweed. Maybe it is, I'm not that good a naturalist :-)

M

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Nope, milkweeds have star shaped flowers: urbpan.livejournal.com/tag/milkweeds