Hieracium caespitosum (commonly known as meadow hawkweed, yellow hawkweed,
field hawkweed, king devil, yellow paintbrush, devil's paintbrush, yellow devil, yellow fox-and-cubs, and yellow king-devil)
is like several other Hieracium

Hieracium

Hieracium known by its common name Hawkweed and long ago by its classical name hierakion which comes from the ancient Greek hierax, "a hawk"...

species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 and has a similar appearance to many of the other Hawkweeds.

Description

Hieracium caespitosum is a creeping perennial,
with shallow, fibrous roots
and long rhizome

Rhizome

In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...

s.

The leaves, hairy on both sides (unlike Hieracium floribundum, which looks similar but has hair only on the underside), are up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) long, spathulate

Leaf shape

In botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...

, and almost exclusively basal with the exception of 1 or 2 very small cauline leaves. The leaves lay flat to the ground, overlap, and will smother non-vigorous turf.

The stems are bristly and usually leafless, although occasionally a small leaf appears near the midpoint.
Stems, leaves, and bracts have dense, blackish hairs
and exude milky juice when broken.

The 1/2 inch (1 centimeter) flower heads appear in tight clusters at the top
of the 1 to 3 foot (1/3 to 1 meter) stems with 5 to 40 flowers per cluster.