Orange hawkweed goes by many names including devil’s paintbrush, king-devil, fox and cubs, and grim the colliar and is a herbaceous perennial in the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes sunflower, yarrow, and lettuce. It is native to alpine areas of central and southern Europe but was introduced into the US as an ornamental and now can be found in most of the US. Plants do well in full sun and infertile, well-drained soil, and can be found in pastures, grasslands, lawns, forest openings, ditches, roadsides, and disturbed areas.
Description: Lance shaped hairy leaves are up to nine inches long and form basal rosettes that produce an upright leafless stem up to eighteen inches tall. The stem oozes a milky sap when broken. Clusters of terminal flower heads one inch across appear from summer to early fall and have orange-red ray flowers. The fruits are achenes with a tuft of brown brittle hairs. Plants spread by seed and stolons.
Control: Pull, hoe, mow, or cut seedlings as they appear. Dig older plants out every one to two weeks being careful to get all the roots and stolons. Be sure to remove all flowers before they set seed. Alternatively, mow the area and cover with a dense mulch such as cardboard or newspaper for one growing season. In severe cases glyphosate or a selective herbicide such as Clopyralid is effective.
Karen Meyers