Hieracium aurantiacum

Orange hawkweed, Orange Hawkweed

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Orange hawkweed is a naturalized perennial found in northern Sierra Nevada Foothills, specifically near Grass Valley in Nevada County, in disturbed areas at approximately 300 meters elevation. Flowering in August, this plant produces vibrant orange-red flowers that often dry to a purple hue in dense to loose flat-topped clusters. Growing with hairy stems 20 to 70 centimeters tall, it spreads through numerous stolons and forms multiple leaf rosettes. Its leaves are primarily basal, oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 5 to 20 centimeters long, covered in long soft hairs and either entire or slightly toothed. The plant's distinctive stems are densely hairy and branched, with glandular peduncles supporting its striking orange flower heads.

Habitat: Disturbed areas

Bloom period: Aug

Elevation: +- 300 m.

Bioregions: n SNF (Grass Valley, Nevada Co., 1967)

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.