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Mouse-ear Hawkweed

©Steve Chilton

Mouse-ear hawkweed

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Scientific name: Pilosella officinarum
Looking a bit like a ragged version of a dandelion, mouse-ear hawkweed has lemon-yellow flower heads that are tinged with red at their outer edges. It likes grassy places with short turf and chalky soils.

Top facts

Stats

Height: up to 25cm

Conservation status

Common.

When to see

May to October

About

Mouse-ear hawkweed is a spreading plant of dry grasslands with short turf and chalky soils, such as those of sand dunes, heaths, clifftops and chalk downlands. Looking a bit like a ragged version of its relative, the common dandelion, its lemon-yellow flower heads are a composite of lots of tiny flowers. These flower heads can be seen from May to October and attract a variety of insects. It is sometimes considered an agricultural weed of poor lawns and degraded pastures.

What to look for

Mouse-ear hawkweed has lemon-yellow flower heads displaying closely packed florets (tiny flowers); the outer florets are red underneath. Its leaves are spoon-shaped and downy, and form a rosette at the base of the flower stem.

Where to find

Widespread.

Habitats

Did you know?

Mouse-ear hawkweed has been used in herbal medicine to treat respiratory infections.