Tawny Hawkweed.Hieracium aurantiacum.
Found in June, in open fields and roadways.
The flower-stem rises from a rosette of foot-leaves; it bears one or two leaves near the-ground, is slender, round, grooved, and hairy. The hairs are dark enough to somewhat obscure the green color of the stem.
The leaf is long oval, with an irregular margin, and strong midrib; the texture is coarse, and both upper and under surfaces are covered by long gray hairs. The color is green, with a lighter midrib. One or two leaves occur upon the flower-stems,—they are smaller than the others.
The tip of the slender “strap-shaped” flower is more finely fringed than is usual with the Hawkweeds. In color an orange-red, or tawny, rather dark in hue, while the pistil is bright yellow. The cup is green, with many dark tawny hairs. The heads are set on short stems in a terminal cluster.
This is the flower commonly known in England by the folk-name of “Grim the Collier,” because of the dark and hairy aspect of its blossoms; the hairs near the flower-heads are of noticeable length and modify their color perceptibly. It is to be noted that the heads are composed of fewer colors than most of the common Hawkweeds. The plumy seeds are of a yellow-gray color and very pretty. Although the botanical calendar places the flowering time of the Tawny in June, personal observation has only noted it in the autumn; during middle September it is to be found in full bloom in northern Vermont.