Mouse-ear hawkweed
Pilosella officinarum
Mouse-ear hawkweed is a perennial herbaceous plant that forms dense mats via epigeal stolons. The leaves are arranged in a basal rosette and are characterized by conspicuously long, white bristly hairs on the upper surface. The plant usually produces a single, leafless stem topped by a pale yellow flower head, with ray florets often showing reddish stripes on the underside. It preferentially colonizes dry, nutrient-poor sites such as lean grasslands, heaths, and sunny embankments.
Details
Habitat function
Serves as a nesting environment and food source in dry habitats.
Nutrient uptake
Efficient nutrient uptake in extremely nitrogen-poor soils.
Food source for
Wild bees (e.g., Andrena humilis), hoverflies, and larvae of the hawkweed moth.
Human use
Formerly used in folk medicine for eye ailments and as a diuretic; today occasionally used in rock gardens.
Ecology
Ecological role
Important nectar and pollen source for specialized wild bees; pioneer plant on open, sandy soils.
Competitor species
Competitive grasses when nutrient levels in the soil increase.
Ecosystem service
Soil stabilization on erosion-prone dry sites; supports biodiversity through pollinator interaction.
Threats
Habitat loss due to eutrophication (fertilization) and scrub encroachment of lean grasslands.
Scientific profile
Profile
Reproduction
Sexual via insect pollination, asexual via apomixis, and vegetative via clonal growth through stolons.
Protection & threats
Main threats
Eutrophication via atmospheric nitrogen deposition, abandonment of land use (scrub encroachment/succession), plowing of nutrient-poor grasslands, or afforestation.