Hieracium murorum (Wall hawkweed)

Hieracium murorum L.

Wall hawkweed

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Asterales	Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies
Family	Asteraceae	The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers
Genus	Hieracium	From Greek hierakion, “a hawk,” from Pliny’s belief that hawks strengthened their eyesight by eating these plants
Species	murorum	“Of walls”

About plant names...

Wall hawkweed is a European native that has found its way to North America prior to 1900. The rather curious name comes from its affinity for rocky slopes and walls.

Identification: Plants are 10-24" (25-60 cm) in height, with hairy stems. Only 3-6 leaves appear at the base of the plant, sometimes with two or three more on the stems. Leaves are elliptic, 1¾-4" (5-11 cm) × ⅞-1¾" (2.5-4.5 cm), sometimes mottled with purple. Leaves are unusual in shape, wide at the base, with large, forward-pointing teeth that fall somewhere between the designation of “tooth” vs. “lobe.” Flower heads appear as 5-8 corymbs. Flowers are yellow, with 30-50 or more florets, about ½" (1.3 cm) in size. They flower in June.

This hawkweed comparison table is an aid to identifying hawkweeds and similar-appearing species.

Online References:

Hieracium murorum on

Hieracium murorum at Skye Flora

Hieracium murorum on eFloras

References:

Hains, Arthur; Farnsworth, Elizabeth & Morrison, Gordon (illus.), Flora Novae Angliae: a Manual for the Identification of Native and Naturalizaed Higher Vascular Plants of New England, Yale University Press, 2011, p. 412