Lucas Land
Field Hawkweed
or
King Devil
Hieracium caespitosum
From Wellesley
Characteristics:
* In the hawkweed family. Flower coarse, hairy, yellow.
* Stems bristly, covered with blackish hairs.
* Leaves hairy on both sides.
* Height: 1-5'.
Natural History:
* Flowers May - August.
* Habitat: Fields, roadsides.
* Range: Eastern Canada to northeastern United States, south in the mountains.
* Introduced from Europe.
Connections!
* For a time, King Devil and other European hawkweeds were used as an herbal remedy for healing eyesight. Pliny reported, in ancient Greece, that hawks ate it to see better.