Picris hieracioides
L.
Asteraceae
The Temperate Database is in the process of being updated, with new records being added and old ones being checked and brought up to date where necessary. This record has not yet been checked and updated.
Common Name: Hawkweed Ox-Tongue
General Information
Picris hieracioides is a Biennial/Perennial up to 0.90 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
17- Title
- Flora of the British Isles.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Clapham, Tutin and Warburg.
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Year
- 1962
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
Range
Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to Spain, the Balkans, W. and C. Asia.
Habitat
Grassland and waysides on calcareous soils[
17- Title
- Flora of the British Isles.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Clapham, Tutin and Warburg.
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Year
- 1962
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
].
Properties
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Medicinal Rating |  |
| Habit | Biennial/Perennial |
| Height | 0.90 m |
| Pollinators | Bees, Flies, Self, apomictic |
| Self-fertile | Yes |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Prefers a dryish soil but succeeds in most soils[
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. Dislikes shade.
Wild plants are an indicator of calcareous soils[
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
Seed is often produced apomictically[
17- Title
- Flora of the British Isles.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Clapham, Tutin and Warburg.
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Year
- 1962
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
]. Any seedlings from this seed will be genetically identical to the parent plant.
Edible Uses
Young leaves - raw or cooked as a pot-herb[
2- Title
- Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Hedrick. U. P.
- Publisher
- Dover Publications
- Year
- 1972
- ISBN
- 0-486-20459-6
- Description
- Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
,
4- Title
- A Modern Herbal.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Grieve.
- Publisher
- Penguin
- Year
- 1984
- ISBN
- 0-14-046-440-9
- Description
- Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
,
105- Title
- Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Tanaka. T. & Nakao S.
- Publisher
- Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo
- Year
- 1976
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
]. Not wonderful raw, they are slightly better cooked[
173- Title
- Native Edible Plants of New Zealand.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Crowe. A.
- Publisher
- Hodder and Stoughton
- Year
- 1990
- ISBN
- 0-340-508302
- Description
- A very well written and illustrated book based on the authors own experiments with living on a native diet.
]. A rather bitter flavour[
K- Title
- Plants for a Future
- Author
- Ken Fern
- Description
- Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].
Medicinal
The bitter leaves have been used as a febrifuge[
240- Title
- Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement).
- Publication
-
- Author
- Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C.
- Publisher
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi.
- Year
- 1986
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
].
The plant is mixed with Swertia pedicellata and pounded to a paste thn applied to the forehead to treat headaches[
272- Title
- Plants and People of Nepal
- Publication
-
- Author
- Manandhar. N. P.
- Publisher
- Timber Press. Oregon.
- Year
- 2002
- ISBN
- 0-88192-527-6
- Description
- Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses.
].
Other Uses
None known
Propagation
Seed - sow spring in situ, only just covering the seed. Germination should take place quite quickly.
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Useful Temperate Plants Database 2016 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
