Hawk's-beard, Smooth

Information on Smooth Hawk's-beard

Common Name: Smooth Hawk's-beard
Scientific Name: Crepis capillaris
Irish Name: Lus cĂșran min
Family Group: Asteraceae
Distribution: View Map (Courtesy of the BSBI)
Flowering Period


Click for list of all flowering by month
Smooth Hawk's-beard could sometimes be confused with:

Hawk's-beard, Beaked,

A native annual or biennial, Smooth Hawk's-beard is a plant of dry grassy places, banks and roadsides. It grows to 80cm high and has 10-20mm across flower-heads of bright yellow ray florets, usually reddish beneath. The heads are surrounded by 2 rows of bracts, the outer being shorter than the inner and they are borne in branched clusters on slender, hairless or slightly hairy stems.The leaves are irregularly pinnate, basal narrow at base and stalked with the upper clasping stem with basal, arrow-shaped lobes. The fruits are brown and ribbed. They are wind-dispersed on a pappus of unbranched hairs. This plant belongs to the Daisy family.

I first recorded and photographed this plant in 2012 at Tullycanna, Co Wexford.

If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre

Hawk's-beard, Smooth
Hawk's-beard, Smooth
Hawk's-beard, Smooth
Hawk's-beard, Smooth