What is Hawkweed?

Hawkweed is a common name for almost any kind of genus hieracium , most of which are considered weeds. Hawkweeds are small, hardy perennials that produce yellow, orange and red flowers that are very similar to dandelions. These flowers bloom at different times from early spring to early autumn. There are several types of hawks that are grown as decorative plants, but most gardeners consider the vast majority of hawks to be invasive weeds that must be eradicated.

worldwide, more than 10,000 different types of Hawkweed plants are distributed. Botanists have found that many types of hieracium are able to evolve into new subspecies much faster than other types of plants. Among the most common species of these plants are common Hawkweed, Meadow Hawkweed and the Devilian brush. Like many unpleasant types of hieracium , a devilish brush was introduced to the United States as an ornamental plant where it quickly escaped into nature and began competingOriginal plants.

Hawkweed flowers appear at first glance to be very similar to the dandelion flower. Hawkweed flowers consist of a thick round head of flowers with dozens of individual small flowers, which are often wrong that they are simply petals. Each of these flowers has a dull tip that ends with small teeth that separate Hawkweeds from similar members of the Aster family. Most Hawkweed flowers are bright yellow, but there are also Hawkweed species that bloom with flowers in rich shades of red and orange.

Gardeners and landscape painters consider most of Hawkweeds a problematic plant, but these weeds play an important role in the environment. Hawkweeds are pollinated by several types of moths, including lime, Hebrew character and dot moth. Fruits and seeds of these perennials are an important source of food for animals from large yellow irritated moth to an ordinary rabbit.

HawkwEeds are traditionally used in folk medicine to treat a handful of diseases. Many species were previously used in the production of teas and tonics to treat respiratory diseases, nausea and digestive problems. Most of these species are no longer considered useful. However, the mouse ear is one of the few species of these plants that remain popular in alternative medicine. Herbal infusion made of mice ear by cooking the whole plant is sometimes used as an expectorant to treat chest overload and other pulmonary conditions.