HAWKWEED : Hieracium vulgatum f. vulgatum
Also see DANDELION with different leaves and petal ends. index.asp?pageid=731684
As we get into June we have got almost complacent about the multitude of bright yellow flowers about. Buttercups and marsh marigold and others. The dandelions have almost all lost their flowers, but not everyone has noticed. This plant is common and fairly tall, yet its appearance has hardly been heralded. Perhaps this is because it shares some features, colour and flower shape being similar.
It can be a hairy plant with some lanceolate to oval, toothed leavess. (Lancelate leaves means shaped like a lance head; of a narrow oval shape tapering to a point at each end): It is a lot easier to point out the squared off ends of the petals, each of which is lsightly notched at the end. The flowerheads are yellow in a spreading flat topped cluster, a bit like a rosette. There are a great many petals erupting from the centre and obscuring the inner centre area.
It is a member of the hieracium species usually known as hawkweed. In ancient Greek hieracium means 'hawk'. As its English name suggests, it can be considered a problem; and invasive weed.
A happy hoverfly.
These are growing in the thin layer of dirt and moss on a backroad in Alexandria.
The seed heads look very much like that of dandelions.
Also see NIPPLEWORT : index.asp?pageid=732594
BRITISH NATURE GUIDE : http://www.britishnatureguide.com/yellow-petal-flowers.html
NATURE SPOT : https://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/common-hawkweed-0
WIKIPEDIA : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieracium
