Pilosella caespitosa (synonymHieracium caespitosum,[3] commonly known as meadow hawkweed, yellow hawkweed,[4]field hawkweed,[5]king devil,[6]yellow paintbrush, devil's paintbrush, yellow devil, yellow fox-and-cubs, and yellow king-devil)
is like several other Pilosellaspecies and has a similar appearance to many of the hawkweeds.[5]
The leaves, hairy on both sides (unlike Pilosella floribunda, which looks similar but has hair only on the underside),[5] are up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) long, spathulate, and almost exclusively basal[8] with the exception of 1 or 2 very small cauline leaves.[9] The leaves lie flat to the ground, overlap, and will smother non-vigorous turf.[7]
The stems are bristly and usually leafless, although occasionally a small leaf appears near the midpoint.[10]
Stems, leaves, and bracts have dense, blackish hairs[11]
and exude milky juice when broken.[8]
The 1/2 inch (1 centimeter) flower heads appear in tight clusters at the top[8]
of the 1 to 3 foot (1/3 to 1 meter) stems with 5 to 40 flowers per cluster.[11]Corollas are all ligulate and bright yellow.[9]
Each single flower head is an inflorescence and each petal forms its own seed, making them each a separate flower or
floret.[citation needed]
The seeds are shiny, black, and plumed.[10]
After maturing they are dispersed by wind, clothing, hair, feathers, and some vehicles that disturb fields or soils. P. caespitosa persists and regrows each year from rhizomes and often spreads by stolons,[12]
which can be extensive, creating a dense mat of hawkweed plants (a colony)[11] that practically eliminates other vegetation.[8]
Pilosella caespitosa prefers silt loam, well-drained soil: coarse textures, moderately low in organic matter, and moist.[12] Its presence can be an indicator of low soil fertility or slightly acidic soils.[7]
Pilosella caespitosa has, in the past, been used for healing eyesight. Pliny the Elder had recorded information regarding how other species, specifically hawks, utilized P. caespitosa, specifically believing that they would eat it in an effort to improve eyesight.[6]
Pilosella caespitosa was originally published by French botanist Barthélemy Charles Joseph Dumortier (Dumort.) in 1827 as Hieracium caespitosum in Fl. Belg.(Dumortier) vol.62.[16] Then in 1967, botanists P.D.Sell & C.West changed it to
Pilosella caespitosa in Watsonia 6: 314 (1967).[17]
The species epithet of caespiticia is derived from caespiticius meaning made of turf.[18][19]
^ abcde
Robert H. Callihan; Timothy W. Miller. "Meadow Hawkweed". Idaho's Noxious Weeds. The Idaho Association of Soil Conservation Districts. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
^ ab
Utah-Idaho Cooperative Weed Management Area. "Meadow Hawkweed". Noxious and Invading Weeds of the UICWMA. Archived from the original on 2007-08-19. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
^Harrison, Lorraine (2012). Latin for Gardeners: Over 3,000 Plant Names Explained and Explored. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226009193.
Klinkenberg, Brian, ed. (2007). "Hieracium caespitosum". Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
