Common hawkweed

Short Description

The common hawkweed can grow to a height of 50 cm. All parts of the plant produce a milky sap when broken.

The leaves seem to grow directly out of the ground (basal) and grow in the form of a rosette. The stem leaves are alternate. Its leaves are lance-shaped and with a roughly serrated margin. On the underside, they are often tinged with red.

The stem is stout covered with short hairs and contains a milky sap. The upper half of the stem is generally greyish with gland-tipped dark hairs.

Numerous small yellow to yellow-orange flowers are bunched together in a flower head which at first glance could be mistaken for the flower itself. The individual ray florets become longer towards the margins.

The fruit is a small ribbed nutlet with a ring of hairs at the tip.

In the city

In an urban environment, common hawkweed can be found at the verges of deciduous or coniferous forests and in nutrient-poor grassland. It can adapt very well to habitats created by humans such as road verges and railway lands. It prefers light to semi-shaded, fresh to dry sites with acid loamy soils.