Hieracium bolanderi facts for kids

Hieracium bolanderi, also known as Bolander's hawkweed, is a cool plant from North America. It belongs to the dandelion family and the larger sunflower family. You can mostly find this plant growing in the mountains of western Oregon and northern California in the United States. Sometimes, it's also spotted further south in the San Bernardino Mountains in southern California and even in Baja California, Mexico.

Discovering Bolander's Hawkweed

Bolander's hawkweed is a type of herb, which means it's a plant without a woody stem, like many garden flowers. It can grow up to 60 cm (2.0 ft) tall. Imagine a plant that's about as tall as a big ruler!

What Bolander's Hawkweed Looks Like

Most of its leaves grow in a special circle at the bottom, called a rosette. Think of how dandelion leaves grow flat on the ground in a circle – it's similar to that! These leaves can be up to 95 mm (3.7 in) long, which is about the length of your finger. They have smooth edges, meaning they don't have any jagged teeth.

Bolander's Hawkweed Flowers

Each plant usually grows one main stem. This stem can have anywhere from 3 to 40 flower heads! These flower heads often grow in a flat-topped group, making them easy to spot. Each flower head is bright yellow and has 6 to 12 "ray flowers." These are the petal-like parts you see on the outside of a sunflower or a daisy. Interestingly, Bolander's hawkweed doesn't have "disc flowers," which are the tiny flowers that make up the center of a sunflower.