Species
Pilosella caespitosa
Etymology
Pilosella: Softly hairy
caespitosa: From the Latin caespes 'tuft' or 'sod of turf', meaning growing in tufts or patches
Common Name(s)
field hawkweed
Authority
Pilosella caespitosa (Dumort.) P.D.Sell & C.West
Family
Asteraceae
Flora Category
Vascular - Exotic
PILCAE
The
National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
Structural Class
Dicotyledonous Herbs - Composites
Synonyms
Hieracium caespitosum
Habitat
Terrestrial. Grassland, scrub, tracksides, riverbanks, forest margins, roadsides, pasture.
Features
Perennial herb 20-50 cm tall with basal rosette and stolons. Rosette leaves olive green to red, leaf underside with fine 1-3 mm scattered hairs on surface, mid-rib and edges. Yellow flowers in clusters of 5 - 20 heads per stem.
Similar Taxa
The presence of stolons, multiple yellow flowers per stem, and fine hairs on the underside of the leaves distinguishes this species from all other Hieracium and Pilosella in NZ.
Flowering
November, December, January (March)
Flower Colours
Yellow
Fruiting
December - February - (March)
Year Naturalised
1940
Origin
Europe
Reason for Introduction
Accidental
Life Cycle and Dispersal
Perennial. Reproduces from seed. Stolons can resprout after damage. Seeds produced October - May Seed dispersed by wind, clothing and animal pelts, rhizomes and stolons by water movement.
Tolerances
Less tolerant of grazing than P. officinarum. Tolerant of low rainfall and poor soils.
References and further reading
Johnson, A. T. and Smith, H. A (1986). Plant Names Simplified: Their pronunciation, derivation and meaning. Landsman Bookshop Ltd: Buckenhill, UK.
This page last updated on 18 Mar 2016