LONG-BEARDED HAWKWEED
File Size: 91 KB
 
Hieracium longipilum  Torr.
Russell County, Kansas
Perennial
Height: 2-6 feet
Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family
Flowering Period:   July, August, September
Stems: Erect, stout, densely covered with brownish, bristly hairs 1/2 to 1 inch long, more so toward base of stem.
Leaves: Mostly basal, often crowded, simple, oblanceolate to spatulate, 4 to 12 inches long, to 1.5 inch wide, densely long-hairy; margins entire; stem leaves gradually reduced, those on upper 1/2 of stem bract-like.
Inflorescences: Heads, 10-20 in panicle-like or raceme-like arrays, on short, hairy stalks; heads about 3/4 inch wide; phyllaries 12-21, linear-lanceolate, in single series, tips pointed, with conspicuous, black, glandular hairs.
Flowers: Florets 30-60, ca. 1/3 inch, corollas yellow.
Fruits: Achenes, redddish-brown, 1/10 to 1/6 inch, tapered towards summit, tipped with pappus of 35-40 tan, barbed bristles, 1/8 to 1/5 inch long, enclosing small seed.
Habitat: Dry, upland prairies, open woods and open sandy sites.
Distribution: East 1/2 of Kansas.
Uses: In ancient and medieval times, hawkweed was used medicinally to treat indigestion, burns, and snakebites.
Comments: The common name comes from an ancient belief that hawks consumed plants of this genus to enhance their eyesight.

Long-bearded hawkweed
155 KB
Russell County, Kansas
Long-bearded hawkweed inflorescence
78 KB
Russell County, Kansas
Long-bearded hawkweed hairs
138 KB
Russell County, Kansas
Long-bearded hawkweed leaves
178 KB
Russell County, Kansas
Long-bearded hawkweed florets
52 KB
Cloud County, Kansas
Long-bearded hawkweed stem
40 KB
Cloud County, Kansas
Long-bearded hawkweed phyllaries
53 KB
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas
Long-bearded hawkweed leaves
96 KB
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas
Long-bearded hawkweed fruiting
96 KB
Russell County, Kansas