BEAKED HAWK'S-BEARD

Crepis vesicaria

Daisy & Dandelion Family [Asteraceae]

Flowers:
month8may month8jun month8june month8jul month8july

Pappus: pappusZpossible (white)
pappus8jul pappus8july pappus8aug pappus8sep pappus8sept

status
statusZalien
 
flower
flower8bicolour
 
flower
flower8yellow
 
inner
inner8red
 
morph
morph8actino
 
petals
petalsZMany
 
stem
stem8round
 
stem
stem8milkysap stem8milkylatex
blue-white

28th May 2012, beach, Little Orme, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
Growing on a shore with a small outbreak of Red Valerian, which is common near the sea.


28th May 2012, beach, Little Orme, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
Another raft of Beaked Hawk's-beard.


9th June 2016, Deganwy, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
Almost on the beach!


9th June 2016, Deganwy, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD


28th May 2012, beach, Little Orme, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
A shingle specimen on its own...


19th May 2011, Linnyshaw Rd, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Up to 2 feet tall, a branched plant with Dandelion type leaves and several Dandelion-type flowers atop, but with several specific differences.


19th May 2011, Linnyshaw Rd, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Upper part of stem branches with up to a dozen flowers atop. No Dandelion is branched.


9th June 2016, Deganwy, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD


9th June 2016, Deganwy, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD


19th May 2011, Linnyshaw Rd, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Beaked Hawk's-beard has an orange-red stripe on the underside of the outer ray florets which other Hawk's-beards (apart from the more common Smooth Hawk's-Beard) lack.


28th May 2012, beach, Little Orme, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
From above the flowers could be almost any species of yellow Asteraceae.


28th May 2012, beach, Little Orme, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
The phyllaries, as seen in the un-opened specimens, usually, the book says, have no hairs but are often found with hairs, as here. (Would that be half and half then?)


28th May 2012, beach, Little Orme, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
The outer phyllaries reach up to about half-way up the unopened florets. [The long phyllary on one of the unopened flowers is escaping from the clutches of the other long phyllaries.]


28th May 2012, beach, Little Orme, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
The stubby hairs on the phyllaries.


19th May 2011, Linnyshaw Rd, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Bracts splay out below the sepals, these could be mistaken for the 'beaks', but it is actually the seeds which are 'beaked'. Another bract is under branches in the stem. Plant roughly hairy; some of the hairs are bristly enough to pierce the skin in the stem is held tight. Un-opened flower-buds beer barrel shaped.


19th May 2011, Linnyshaw Rd, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Stem appears slightly fluted.


9th June 2016, Deganwy, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD


19th May 2011, Linnyshaw Rd, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Orange or red stripes on outer ray florets.


19th May 2011, Linnyshaw Rd, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Young un-opened buds melon to rugby-ball shaped. Bracts may be tinged red and have not yet spread out into the characteristic 'beaked' appearance of Beaked Hawk's-beard (but it is actually the seeds which are 'beaked'). White downy hairs mixed in with stiffer bristly hairs.


9th June 2016, Deganwy, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
Despite this specimen having a great many short, stiff(ish) glandular hairs and non-glandular hairs, this is still Beaked Hawk's-beard and not Rough Hawk's-beard.


19th May 2011, Linnyshaw Rd, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Flowers Dandelion type from above.


19th May 2011, Linnyshaw Rd, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Inner disc florets have two hair-like projections.


9th June 2016, Deganwy, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD


9th June 2016, Deganwy, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD


19th May 2011, Linnyshaw Rd, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD


19th May 2011, Linnyshaw Rd, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
A jumble of small spiny deeply lobed leaves below branches and clasping the stem on the main stem. Main stem ribbed here.


19th May 2011, Linnyshaw Rd, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Very few stem leaves, and not many leaves in the basal rosette.


19th May 2011, Linnyshaw Rd, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Basal leaves with deep lobes, flattened (aka winged) stalks and red mid-ribs.


23rd May 2011, Linnyshaw Rd, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Spiny deeply lobed stem leaves clasp the stem with an auricle each side.


19th May 2011, Linnyshaw Rd, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Leaves sparsely populated with hairs/bristles.


9th June 2016, Deganwy, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
Long tapering bracts beneath some branches.


9th June 2016, Deganwy, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
Despite the presence of leaves with auricles around the stem, the specimen from Deganwy is not Rough Hawk's-beard but Beaked Hawk's-beard.


9th June 2016, Deganwy, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
As well as short blackish glandular hairs being present (not visible here) there are blackish conical 'hairs' present on Beaked Hawk's-beard. The upper parts of the stem lack these stiff bristles.


19th May 2011, Linnyshaw Rd, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Main stem fairly robust, stiff and slightly fluted/ribbed, sometimes with vertical reddish stripes.


Not to be confused with : Goat's-beard (Tragopogon pratensis) [another Daisy and Dandelion Family plant with similar name].

There are actually two species with the same common name Beaked Hawk's-beard:

  • Crepis vesicaria An erect (to 80cm) hairy perennial which is common in the UK south of Leeds, less so in Wales and is the one depicted above. The stem leaves are auriculate, clasping the stem with auricles each side, and which are sharply and deeply lobed. The seeds are shaped like a baseball bat and are much longer (at 5-9mm including the beak) than those of C. tectorum
  • Crepis tectorum This one is much less common and has had its common name changed to that of Narrow-leaved Hawk's-beard to avoid confusion, and is found in only 4 hectads, all south of Newcastle. An erect annual of similar height (75cm) but less hairy. The stem leaves are entire to sinuately (wavy) toothed. The seeds are curved like a boomerang or banana and (at 2.5mm-4mm long) are much shorter than those of C. vesicaria.
Both of these have 'beaked' seeds (i.e. they have a pedestal)

The above photographs are of the former.

Some similarities to : Cat's-ear (but that has smooth semi-glossy hairless leaves), Rough Hawkbit (but that has single un-branched stems with a single flower atop), Rough Hawk's-beard (but that is taller with deeply lobed dandelion-type leaves with stalks on the stem) and Bristly Oxtongue (but that has a single row of very wide sepal-like bracts below the sepals, as well as pimples on the leaves where bristles emerge).

Hawk's-beards tend to have a basal rosette of deeply-lobed dandelion-type leaves but they are easily distinguished from other similar plants such as Hawkbits, Hawkweeds and Cat's-ears by their double row of spreading sepal-like bracts below the sepals.

Beaked Hawk's-beard inhabits waste places, grassy places, rough ground, waysides and walls. It was established in 1713 and is now naturalised and still spreading northwards. The stem is often reddish. It has a few stem leaves which clasp the stem and are deeply lobed. The basal leaves are few in number, deeply lobed, and with a red mid-rib. The Dandelion-type flowers have a red stripe visible on the underside of the outer ray florets, but so do a few other Dandelion-type flowers such as Smooth Hawk's-Beard, Mouse-Ear-Hawkweed, Cat's-ear and Great Lettuce.

Broken stems ooze a bluish-white milky latex.


  Crepis vesicaria  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Asteraceae  

Distribution
 family8Daisy & Dandelion family8Asteraceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Crepis
Crepis
(Hawk's-beards)

BEAKED HAWK'S-BEARD

Crepis vesicaria

Daisy & Dandelion Family [Asteraceae]

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