Hawkweed Complex

Hieracium pratense (yellow) and H. aurantiacum (orange)

Growth Habitat: Creeping perennials that contain a milky sap.

Leaves: Basal rosettes have hairy, harrow, spatula-shaped leaves that are dark green above and light green below.

Stems: One rosette can produce 10-25 flowering stems that can grow up to 3 feet tall. Stems have short, stiff hairs and may have one to three small, clasping leaves below the midpoint of the stem.

Flowers: 5 to 30 bright yellow, dandelion-like flowers make up the inflorescence.

Roots: Shallow, fibrous, and creeping. One flowering plant can produce 4 to 12 leafy stolons that can reach lengths of 4 to 12 inches. Vigorous stolon growth quickly expands the colony, forming dense patches that can have as many as 3,200 plants per square yard.

Seeds: Viable up to 7 years.

Reproduces: By seeds, rhizomes, stolons, and adventitious root buds. Reproduces asexually.

Habitat: Found in moist pastures, forest meadows, abandoned fields, clearcuts, and roadsides.