PLANTS: Fibrous-rooted from a short rhizome, often stoloniferous. Stems erect, simple, subscapose, 30–80 cm. Herbage glabrate to sparsely long-hirsute. Source: Lesica et al. 2012.
LEAVES: Mainly basal, short-petiolate; blades oblanceolate, 3–10 cm long, entire. Source: Lesica et al. 2012.
INFLORESCENCE: Heads 10 to 30; involucres narrowly campanulate, 6–9 mm high; phyllaries scarious-margined, linear-lanceolate, sparsely stellate-hairy, stipitate-glandular, setose-hirsute. Rays 60 to 80, yellow; ligules 4–6 mm long. Achenes 1–2 mm long; pappus white. Source: Lesica et al. 2012.
Montana has about 4 native and 3 exotic Hawkweeds. Their species identification can be complex and confusing because species interbreed to form hybrids and some populations are apomictic (seed are asexually produced).
Hieracium caespitosum,
Hieracium praealtum,
Hieracium piloselloides, and
Hiercium gracile have yellow flower heads while
Hieracium aurantiacum is our only Hawkweed with red-orange flowers heads.
Kingdevil Hawkweed (
Hieracium praealtum) Villers ex Gochnat has leaves with lower surfaces that have stellate (star-shaped) hairs (FNA 2006). In Lesica’s treatment in the
Manual of Montana Vascular Plants (2012) our plants appear to better fit the description of
Hieracium praealtum Villers ex Gochnatthen than of
H. piloselloides Vill. or
H. floribundum Wimm. & Grab. However, the Strother’s treatment in the
Flora of North America (2006) does not include
Hieracium praealtum Villers ex Gochnat, but does recognize it might merit taxonomic recognition.
Meadow Hawkweed (
Hieracium caespitosum) has florets with pappus bristles in 1 series (single ring of bristles). Its upper stems and involucres have dense glandular setae (hairs), but
Hieracium praealatum has scattered glandular setae mixed in with non-glandular setae (Lesica et al. 2012).
Hieracium caespitosum has short stolons (when they are present).
Hieracium praealatum is more likely to have stolons and when present they are longer and slender.
Tall Hawkweed (
Hiercium piloselloides) has leaves (upper and lower surfaces) that are
lack both hair types of long, stiff hairs (piloso-hirsute) and stellate (star-like) hairs (FNA 2006). Leaves are glabrous or have one long, stiff hairs on the midribs and margins.
Alpine Hawkweed (
Hiercium gracile)is a native plant of the subalpine and alpine habitats. Its florets have 2 series of pappus bristles. Plants also tend to be less than 30 cm tall.
Roadsides, grasslands; valleys, montane (Lesica et al. 2012).
POLLINATORS The following animal species have been reported as pollinators of this plant species or its genus where their geographic ranges overlap:
Bombus ternarius,
Bombus terricola,
Bombus bohemicus, and
Bombus flavidus (Heinrich 1976, Colla and Dumesh 2010).
