Smooth Hawksbeard

Crepis capillaris

Please keep in mind that it is illegal to uproot a plant without the landowner's consent and care should be taken at all times not to damage wild plants. Wild plants should never be picked for pleasure and some plants are protected by law.

Plant Data

Order:

Asterales

Family:

Asteraceae (Daisy)

Type:

Flower

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Flower:

Yellow, many petals

Species of Hawksbeard are distinguishable by the two rows of bracts on their flowerheads. Smooth Hawksbeard is the commonest Hawksbeard in the UK. Its bright yellow dandelion-like flowers are often reddish on the undersides of its florets. The flowers are smaller than those of other Hawksbeard species, up to 15mm across.

Fruit:

Dandelion-like seeds (pappuses).

Leaves:

A small and slender annual flower with numerous shiny basal leaves which are pinnately lobed. The only hairless Hawksbeard, hence the flowers name.

Maximum Size:

75 centimetres tall

Frequency (UK):

Common

Habitats:

Grassland, meadows, roadsides, rocks, walls, wasteland.