Mouse-ear Hawkweed (Plants of Saxony)

Mouse-ear Hawkweed

Pilosella officinarum

Summary ⁵

Hieracium pilosella (syn. Pilosella officinarum), known as mouse-ear hawkweed, is a yellow-flowered species of Asteraceae, native to Europe and northern Asia. It produces single, citrus-coloured inflorescences. It is an allelopathic plant. Like most hawkweed species, it shows tremendous variation and is a complex of several dozens subspecies and hundreds of varieties and forms.

Taxon biology ⁶

Mouse-ear hawkweed looks a lot like a dandelion, however the flowers are a lighter yellow. In addition, the leaves are totally different in shape. The rosette of leaves lie close to the ground and are covered with hairs. The plant is named after these hairy mouse-ear shaped leaves. New rosettes can form via runners (stolons). Mouse-ear hawkweed grows mostly on dry, sandy soils. Grazers such as rabbits prevent the plant from overgrowth. Mouse-ear hawkweed also grows on the characteristic garden walls (tuinwallen) on Texel. Various insects will only lay their eggs on the leaves or stems of this plant, such as specific species of moths, gall-flies and gall wasps. And its nectar is important for certain bee species.