Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Rattlesnake Hawkweed - Hieracium venosum   L.
Members of Asteraceae:
Members of Hieracium with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 6 » Order Asterales » Family Asteraceae
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AuthorL.
DistributionMountains, Piedmont, and northern Coastal Plain; scarce in the Sandhills proper; along the Cape Fear River in Cumberland and Brunswick counties; in a "savanna just north of Ward's Corner" in Pender County.

ME to southern Ont., south to GA, MS, OK, and MO.
AbundanceCommon and widespread in the Piedmont and nearly all of the Mountains. Also reasonably common in the northern Coastal Plain, but infrequent in the Sandhills, and very rare to absent over most of the central and southern Coastal Plain.
HabitatDry to mesic woodlands and forests, openings and edges of such forests, rocky slopes, oak-hickory-dogwood slopes, barrens, and roadbanks.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting April-July (reportedly to September).
IdentificationWith its red-purple (or brown-purple) leaf veins on the basal leaves (in a rosette), near lack of stem leaves, and mostly spring to early summer flowering, Rattlesnake Hawkweed is highly distinct. As with other hawkweeds, the flowers have rays florets only and are yellow in color. However, the flowers are not needed to identify this characteristic plant of dry banks and open, rocky woods.
Taxonomic CommentsIt reportedly hybridizes with Beaked Hawkweed; the more-or-less stabilized product is Maryland Hawkweed (H. marianum).

Other Common Name(s)Veiny Hawkweed, Rattlesnake-weed, Robin's-plantain (generally used for Erigeron pulchellus)
State RankS5
Global RankG5
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B.A. SorrieSame data. MoorePhoto_natural
B.A. SorriePiedmont, ledge by Cabin Creek, Leach Road, May 2021. MoorePhoto_natural
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