''Scorzoneroides autumnalis'', commonly called autumn hawkbit, is a

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

species, widespread in its native range in Eurasia (from Europe east to western Siberia), and introduced in North America. The plant is sometimes called fall dandelion, because it is very similar to the

common dandelion ''Taraxacum officinale'', the dandelion or common dandelion, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The common dandelion is well known for its yellow flower heads that turn into round balls of many silver-tuft ...

(one of the main differences being a branched stem with several capitulaAutumn Hawkbit
/ref>), but "yellow fields", covered by this plant appear much later than dandelions, towards the autumn in the Eastern Europe. In the Latin synonym of the plant name, ''Leontodon autumnalis'',Parnell, J. and Curtis, T, 2012 ''Webb's An Irish Flora''. Cork University Press."leontodon" means "lion's tooth", the same as "dandelion".

Description

''Scorzoneroides autumnalis'' is a perennial herb growing to 35 cm high usually with branched stems and several flower-heads each about 30 mm across. The florets are all ligulate and bright yellow. The leaves are all basal and linear-oblong.

Reproduction

Flowers in June to October producing

achenes An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not open ...

Habitat

Frequent in damp

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

and meadows.Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. 1968 Excursion Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press

Ecology

The

fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

'' Tephritis leontodontis'' is known to attack the capitula of this plant.

Distribution

Abundant in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

References

External links

* * Cichorieae Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Cichorieae-stub