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hawkweed

hawkweed

1 8.9
A plant with yellow or orange flowers like a dandelion
  • noun
  • /ˈhɔkˌwid/
  • Specialized
translation icon : hieracium
  • The field was beautiful with various wildflowers, including vibrant orange hawkweed swaying in the breeze.

Examples

  • Ranchers reported having first seen the hawkweed in the 1960s, which roughly coincides with the improvement of significant areas of native pastureland.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Try the hawkweed. "The Devil's paintbrush?

    Fiction book (1991)
  • I'll need more Snowdonia hawkweed to mix another memory potion.

  • But the illustrations draw him back to a time when the differences between a hawkweed and a dandelion could fascinate him for hours.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Invasives, particularly mouse-eared hawkweed, existed in most pastures on the western side of the island.

    Academic text (2008)
  • During a trip to Grand Manan, a naturalist's island paradise in the Bay of Fundy of New Brunswick, Canada, I tried this technique on a field of daisies, orange and yellow hawkweed, and multicolored lupines.

    Academic text (1996)
  • The garden was filled with bright yellow hawkweed flowering in the summer sun.

  • In the meadow, large patches of hawkweed bloomed, attracting many butterflies.

Synonyms

Pilosella aurantiaca
vshawkweed
  • Specialized
9.9

A small European plant with bright orange-red flowers that often grows wild and is a weed

is the general name for yellow or orange dandelion-like flowering plants
orange hawkweed
vshawkweed
  • US
9.9

A small wild plant with bright orange flowers often seen as a weed

is broader, referring to plants with either yellow or orange dandelion-like blooms
Hieracium aurantiacum
vshawkweed
  • Specialized
9.9

A bright orange-red flower that spreads quickly and often becomes an unwanted weed in meadows

is the wider term for similar yellow or orange dandelion-like flowering plants
yellow hawkweed
vshawkweed
  • Specialized
8.8

A small European wild plant with yellow flowers that can become a weed in the northeast United States

covers both yellow and orange forms rather than only the yellow flowered type
mouse-ear hawkweed
vshawkweed
9.9

A low plant with soft hairy leaves and small yellow flowers like a dandelion

focuses on flower color and general group membership rather than leaf hairiness
Pilosella officinarum
vshawkweed
  • Specialized
9.9

A small European wild plant with soft, hairy leaves and yellow flowers

refers broadly to plants with yellow or orange dandelion-like flowers instead
Hieracium pilocella
vshawkweed
  • Specialized
9.9

A small wild flower like a dandelion with soft, hairy leaves

is the general category based on flower color and overall plant type
Hieracium
vshawkweed
  • Specialized
9.9

A small wild plant with hairy leaves and bright yellow flowers

is a common name for the plants within that larger taxonomic group
genus Hieracium
vshawkweed
  • Specialized
9.8

A large group of hairy plants that live many years and look like small yellow daisies called hawkweeds

is the everyday label for those plants with yellow or orange dandelion-like flowers
Hieracium venosum
vshawkweed
  • Specialized
9.9

A small wild plant native to North America with purple veins on its round leaves

refers generally to similar yellow or orange flowered plants regardless of leaf pattern
Hieracium praealtum
vshawkweed
  • Specialized
9.9

A small European wild plant that can spread and become a weed

is the broader term for the same type of dandelion-like flowering plants

Compounds

A low plant with soft hairy leaves and small yellow flowers like a dandelion

A small wild plant with bright orange flowers often seen as a weed

yellow hawkweed
  • Specialized
8.8

A small European wild plant with yellow flowers that can become a weed in the northeast United States

Surface Forms

hawkweed singular
hawkweeds plural

Morphology

hawkweed = hawk + weed (semi-transparent) = hawk + weed

The components 'hawk' and 'weed' are identifiable, but the specific botanical referent (a particular genus/species) and why 'hawk' is used are not predictable for an average learner.

Etymology

Hawkweed combines hawk ('a bird of prey') and weed ('a wild plant'); people once thought hawks ate or were connected to this common wild plant. So today hawkweed means a small wild plant with yellow or orange, dandelion-like flowers.