Hieracium caespitosum Dumort.
Field hawkweed, yellow hawkweed, meadow hawkweed, king devil, yellow paintbrush, devil’s paintbrush, yellow devil, yellow fox-and-cubs, yellow king-devil
Kingdom Plantae Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom Tracheobionta Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division Magnoliophyta Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class Magnoliopsida Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass Asteridae A large class that encompasses asters
Order Asterales Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies
Family Asteraceae The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers
Genus Hieracium From Greek hierakion, “a hawk,” from Pliny’s belief that hawks strengthened their eyesight by eating these plants
Species caespitosum From caespes, “a turf, sod, or field”
About plant names...
Meadow hawkweed is a European native, apparently introduced to the United States in 1828
as an ornamental plant. It escaped and is now widespread.
Plants: Plants consist of a basal rosette
with 3-8 or more leaves, and
many tall, thin relatively bare flower stems 10-36″ (25-91 cm) high. Stems, leaves, and stolons
exude a milky latex when cut. Stems have dense hairs 1/32-⅛″ (1-4 mm) long, softer toward the bottom,
stiffer toward the top .
Leaves: The basal leaves
are 2-10″ (5-25 cm) long and ½-1¼″ (1.3-3.2 cm) wide. They are variable in appearance, oblong
lanceolate to elliptic in shape, with blunt or pointed tips, sometimes toothed.
Flowers: Each stem is topped with a flat-topped or umbrella-shaped cluster of 5-30 yellow flowers.
Flowers appear from May to August, and are ½-1″ (1.3-2.5 cm) across.
Fruits: Shiny, black, and plumed: equipped with individual feathery awns
or bristles that depend on the wind to carry them to new locations.
Online References:
Minnesota Wildflowers
The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site
Plants.ces.ncsu.edu
The USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database
EFloras
5/24/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm) ID is uncertain
5/24/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 17 cm) ID is uncertain
6/3/2018 · Mt. Watatic, Ashby, Massachusetts · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm)
8/27/2021 · Hackett and Minot Trails, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 10 cm)
8/20/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 9″ (14 × 22 cm) ID is uncertain
8/27/2021 · Hackett and Minot Trails, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 5 × 3″ (12 × 8.4 cm)
6/22/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain
6/21/2017 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm)
6/3/2018 · Mt. Watatic, Ashby, Massachusetts · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm)
5/22/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm) ID is uncertain
6/1/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm) ID is uncertain
6/3/2018 · Mt. Watatic, Ashby, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm)
6/10/2021 · Otter Brook Preserve, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9 cm)
Older scientific or horticultural names
Hieracium pratense Tausch
Hieracium caespitosum description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 26 Jul 2023.
© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.
6/3/2018 · Mt. Watatic, Ashby, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm)
6/1/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 10 × 15″ (26 × 39 cm) ID is uncertain
6/21/2017 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (14 × 10 cm)
5/24/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 14 × 9″ (35 × 23 cm) ID is uncertain
6/2/2010 · J. Harry Rich State Forest, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 14 × 9″ (35 × 23 cm) ID is uncertain
9/19/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 3 × 4½″ (7.9 × 11 cm) ID is uncertain
8/27/2021 · Hackett and Minot Trails, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 6″ (9.4 × 14 cm)
6/5/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm) ID is uncertain
6/21/2017 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm)
6/3/2018 · Mt. Watatic, Ashby · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm)
6/1/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts ID is uncertain
5/24/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 1 × 1½′ (34 × 52 cm) ID is uncertain
8/20/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 12″ (20 × 31 cm) ID is uncertain
9/19/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 7.9 cm) ID is uncertain
Range:
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