Flora Pittsburghensis

Tag: Devil’s Paintbrush

  • Yellow Hawkweed (Hieracium caespitosum)

    Yellow Hawkweed (Hieracium caespitosum)
    Photographed May 29.

    A common weed of lawns; it closely resembles the more spectacular Orange Hawkweed (H. aurantiacum) in everything but color. This one has many common names, some of which it shares with the orange species, including King Devil, Devil’s Paintbrush, Yellow Paintbrush, and Fox-and-Cubs. Many current botanists place both in the genus Pilosella, so that (making the adjective agree in gender) it becomes Pilosella caespitosa; but there are still arguments about that, and old Pa Pitt will stand back and let the professionals sort it out. These plants were blooming in a field near Farmington.

    Yellow Hawkweed (Hieracium caespitosum)

  • Orange Hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum)

    Hieracium aurantiacum

    Also known as Pilosella aurantiaca, this is one of our most spectacular weeds. If you draw a line right across the middle of Pennsylvania from east to west, you will mark the southern border of the range where Orange Hawkweed is common. There are, however, isolated stations in the city of Pittsburgh, one of which is St. Peter’s Cemetery in Arlington, where these pictures were taken on June 3.

    Pilosella aurantiaca
    Orange Hawkweed