Species
Pilosella aurantiaca subsp. carpathicola
Etymology
Pilosella: Softly hairy
Common Name(s)
orange hawkweed
Authority
Pilosella aurantiaca subsp. carpathicola (Nägeli & Peter) Soják
Family
Asteraceae
Flora Category
Vascular - Exotic
PILAUR
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 aurantiacum subsp. carpathicola
Habitat
Terrestrial. Waste land, grassland, scrub, tussock grassland, roadsides, lawns, gardens, pastures (Webb et al 1988).
Features
Perennial herb usually 15-40 cm tall with long stolons. Rosette leaves green, narrowly oblanceolate, entire or obscurely dentate. Erect flowering stems with clusters of orange flowers (December - April)(purple when dry).
Similar Taxa
Can be distinguished from P. xstoloniflora, the only other hawkweed in NZ with orange flowers, by it's clustered small capitula on peduncles <2cm long at flowering and by having few or no stellate hairs on its leaves.
Flowering
December, January, February, March
Flower Colours
Orange,Yellow
Fruiting
December - March - (May)
Year Naturalised
1911
Origin
Europe
Reason for Introduction
Accidental.
Life Cycle and Dispersal
Perennial. Reproduces via seed, stolons can re-sprout after disturbance. Seed produced December - May. Seed dispersed by wind, clothing and animal pelts. Rhizomes and stolons via water movement, contaminated soil and machinery. Plant tolerant to damage and grazing, moderate to cold temperatures, low rainfall, 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