Yellow cup flowers are the trademark of hawkweed and dandelions. Confusions are commonplace. If you know what you're doing, you can easily distinguish between the two wild herbs. After reading this guide, you will now be able to call the natural beauties by their correct names.
How do I recognize hawkweed and dandelions?
To distinguish hawkweed from dandelion, pay attention to the leaves: hawkweed has narrow, ovate, hairy leaves, while dandelion has smooth, toothed, dissected leaves. Both wild herbs are valuable pastures for bees.
How can I tell hawkweed from dandelions?
Viewed from a distance, the two wild herbs with bright yellow basket flowers look very similar. This is hardly surprising, since small hawkweed (Hieracium pilosella) and common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) belong to the daisy family (Asteraceae). Upon closer inspection, the local natural beauties can be clearly distinguished by their leaves and their hairiness:
- Hawhawk leaves are narrow, egg-shaped, entire, abovedistinctly hairy, gray tomentose underneath.
- Dandelion leaves are lanceolate, lobed to varying degrees, deeply cut, toothed andsmooth.
How and where does hawkweed grow?
Small hawkweed thrives with a basal rosette of leaves from which gray, felty, leafless flower stalks with yellow cup flowers rise. The hardy perennial is widespread throughout Europe, but less extensively than dandelion. The reason for this is the speciallocation preferences of a sun worshiper The following overview summarizes further key growth data worth knowing:
- Growth height: 5 cm to 20 cm
- Flowering period: May to October
- Leaf phase: wintergreen
- Location: sunny, gravelly-dry, poor, well-drained
- Spread: invasive through runners with daughter rosettes
How and where does dandelion grow?
From spring to autumn, dandelions are a familiar sight in meadows and gardens, on roadsides and on fallow land. Theubiquitous wild herb thrives with a rosette of leaves that arise from a taproot up to 1 meter long. Long, hollow stems rise from the leaf axils, on which bright yellow basket flowers are enthroned. Other defining growth characteristics are:
- Growth height: 30 cm to 60 cm
- Flowering time: from April to autumn
- Leaf phase: wintergreen
- Location: sunny to partially shaded, fresh and moist, humus, nutrient-rich
- Spread: invasive through runners and seeds (dandelion)
Tip
Hawkweed and dandelion – premium quality bee pastures
Small hawkweed (Hieracium pilosella) is a big hit as a bee pasture. The wild herb is a valuable source of food for 32 species of wild bees and 11 species of butterflies. The yellow dandelion flowers (Taraxacum) are a popular destination for 70 species of wild bees and 67 species of butterflies, who look forward to a rich harvest of pollen and nectar. Both natural treasures should not be missing in the bee-friendly garden.
