''Hieracium attenboroughianum'', or Attenborough's hawkweed, is a species of hawkweed in the genus '' Hieracium'', found only in the

Brecon Beacons The Brecon Beacons (; ) are a mountain range in Wales. The range includes South Wales's highest mountain, Pen y Fan (), its twin summit Corn Du (), and Craig Gwaun Taf (), which are the three highest peaks in the range. The Brecon Beacons ha ...

in south

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It was named after the naturalist Sir

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...

by taxonomist Tim Rich, who said: Rich was one of the team that first discovered the species, in 2004. Attenborough was honoured by the naming saying: Around 300 plants occur on

Old Red Sandstone Old Red Sandstone, abbreviated ORS, is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the eastern seaboard of North America. It ...

mountain ledges on Cribyn.

Description

''Hieracium attenboroughianum'' grows to about 30 cm tall, occasionally reaching 45 cm, with a slender stem that may show a faint reddish-purple flush at the base. The leaves form a basal rosette of 4–7 dark green, slightly bluish (subglaucous) ovate leaves with characteristic upturned margins, giving them a cupped appearance. These leaves measure 3.5–7 cm long by 2.5–4.5 cm wide, with pointed tips and remotely toothed edges that are more pronounced towards the base. The upper leaf surface is nearly hairless, while the underside is paler with sparse white hairs. The leaf stalks ( petioles) extend to 4 cm in length, show a reddish-purple colouration, and are covered with numerous long white hairs. The plant typically bears no stem leaves or occasionally just one, which is often reduced to a small

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

. Its flower heads () are arranged in a branched cluster of up to four flowers, each measuring 30–45 mm in diameter. The protective bracts () surrounding the flower heads are greyish-green with paler margins, narrowly linear- in shape, and pointed. These bracts feature a distinctive combination of sparse long hairs (which are black at the base and white at the tip), numerous short s, and sparse white (star-shaped) hairs primarily along the margins and base. The flowers themselves display bright yellow (ray florets) with smooth tips and yellow styles that darken with age. Following flowering, the plant produces blackish-brown seeds measuring 3–4 mm in length. ''Hieracium attenboroughianum'' flowers from late June to mid-July in its natural habitat, though in cultivation it may bloom from late May for 2–3 weeks with occasional flowers appearing until September.

Taxonomy

''Hieracium attenboroughianum'' was first formally described as a new species by Tim Rich in 2014. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

, which serves as the official reference for the species, was collected by Rich himself on 28 June 2014 from mountain ledges at 740 metres above sea level on Cribyn in the

, Wales. The plant was found growing on

rock formations at grid reference SO021212, which falls within the Breconshire vice-county (v.c. 42). The

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

specimen is preserved at the Natural History Museum in London (BM), with an isotype (duplicate specimen) housed at the

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

herbarium (CGE). The species is classified is a member of the '' H. britannicum'' group in ''Hieracium'' section Stelligera Zahn. It is related to '' H. britannicoides'', but differs in having in cupped, dark green leaves and sparse, medium simple eglandular hairs and many glandular hairs on the involucral bracts.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18986742 attenboroughianum Plants described in 2015 Flora of Wales Endemic flora of Wales Brecon Beacons David Attenborough

Description

Taxonomy

See also

References