British wildflowers - Long rooted Cat's Ear

British wildflowers - Long rooted Cat's Ear

060 II Long rooted Cat's Ear Hypochaeris Radicata L

British wildflowers of the Fields and Medows

Like the Hawkweeds, except the Mouse-ear Hawkweed, the Long rooted Cat's Ear is apparently quite a modern Composite. At the present day it is found in the Northern Temperate Zone in Europe, and N. Africa. In Great Britain it is found everywhere, except in Roxburgh, as far north as the Orkneys. In the Highlands one may find it growing at a height of 1600 ft., and it is native in Ireland and the Channel Islands.

The Cat's Ear is one of those exceedingly familiar meadow plants that are to be found practically in every field and meadow throughout the length and breadth of the land.

The Long rooted Cat's Ear is perhaps more partial to lowland districts, though it is also found on hills, and at high elevations. Like Hawksbeard it is found also on waste ground and along the wayside.

The aerial stems are scapes, or flowering stems. A characteristic feature is the long root, which is white, simple, and milky, hence the English and second Latin name. The radical leaves are prostrate, lying on the ground in a rosette, flat, oblong, and the leaf segments are turned back, rough, toothed, hairy, the hairs originating from minute points.

The flowerheads of the Long rooted Cat's Ear are yellow, borne on branched scapes, which are thickened just below the flowerheads, and nearly erect. The whorl of leaf-like organs is shorter than the florets, which are overlapping, equal, and numerous, with ray florets, with five teeth, with yellow anthers forming a tube. The flower-stalks bear small scales near the top, and are often flattened along the sides.

The Long rooted Cat's Ear is about 18 in. in height. The flowers can be found in June up till September. It is perennial, increased by division of the root.

The flowerhead is yellow, large, and conspicuous, and is thus visited by numerous insects. The florets bear both stamens and carpels, with both ray and disk florets, the petals forming a tube which is hairy at the top, preventing the entrance of rain. The stamens are capillary, and the anthers unite to form a tube, as in the majority of Composites. The style is threadlike and as long as the stamens. The two stigmas are recurved to prevent self-pollination when insect visits are possible. Amongst the visitors are Honey Bee, Bombus, Dasvpoda, Panurgus, Colletes, Rhopkites, Andrena, Halictus, Sphecodes, Diphysis; Diptera (Syrphidae, Eristalis, Pipiza, Conopidae, Sicus, Muscidae, Demoticus).

The fruits are provided with pappus, and are dispersed by wind.

The Long-rooted Cat's Ear is largely a clay-loving plant, growing on clay soil and also on sand soil.

The stems of the Cat's Ear are liable to be galled by Aulax hvpochaeridis. A beetle, Cryptocephalus sericeus, a Homopterous insect, Aphalara picta, and a fly, Tephritis vespertina, feed on it.

Photo. W. E. Mayes - Long-rooted Cat's Ear (Hypochaeris radicata, L.)

Hypochaeris, Theophrastus, is from the Greek hypo, under, and choiros, a hog, the roots being eaten by pigs. The second Latin name refers to the long root. It is called Bent, Cat's-ear, Gosmore.

The Long rooted Cat's Ear is to be distinguished from Leontodon autumnale by its long root, apart from the following characteristics.

Essential Specific Characters:

181. Hypochaeris radicata, L. - Stem scaly, leaves radical, runci-nate, lobes recurved, hirsute, flower-stalk forked, smooth, thickened above, flowerheads yellow, involucre shorter than florets.

British wildflowers

Browse through our online Volumes of British wildflowers in their natural haunts. This is Volume II of VI Volumes - Long rooted Cat's Ear