''Hieracium snowdoniense'', the Snowdonia hawkweed, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

within the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

. The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Snowdonia Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

. It was believed to have become extinct in the early 1950s as a result of

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

sheep on the habitat. In 2002, three plants of the species were re-discovered on steep slopes in the Cwm Idwal National Nature Reserve above Bethesda. In 2021 it appeared that the population had doubled to six plants, but they were in an extremely inaccessible place, making it impossible to confirm that all six were in fact ''Hieracium snowdoniense''. In order to conserve the population, conservationists have removed sheep from the area. Seeds of the species were also collected, and captive specimens are being cultivated at the

National Botanic Garden of Wales The National Botanic Garden of Wales () is a botanical garden located in Llanarthney in the River Tywi valley, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The garden is both a visitor attraction and a centre for botanical research and conservation, and features t ...

Description

''Hieracium snowdoniense'' is a perennial species, which possesses a rosette of leaves at the base of the plant. Leaves are lanceolate to ovate, toothed weakly and narrow at the base. Both sides of the leaf possess hairs. Stems of the plant reach up to 40 cm and host flowers. Peduncles are varied in length and support golden-yellow

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

References

External links

* * * snowdoniense Snowdonia Endemic flora of Wales Plants described in 1955 Environment of Gwynedd Environment of Conwy County Borough Capel Curig Llandygai {{Cichorieae-stub