Hieracium paniculatum L.
Panicled hawkweed, Allegheny hawkweed
Panicled hawkweed is a native of eastern North America.
Plants: From a base on the ground that survives the winter, this hawkweed produces stems up to 3′ (1 m) high, with sparse leaves and hairs on the lower stem and leaves that are ⅛–⅜″ (3–10 mm) long.
Leaves: Narrow, alternate, up to 6″ (15 cm) long, hairless, with irregularly toothed or untoothed margins and whitish undersides.
Flowers: The top portion of the plant branches in a delicate tracery of sinuous, hairless, thin-branched flowering heads. Each of the dozens of flowers are less than ½″ (1.5 cm) in length, with fewer than 20 florets. Each floret has 8-29 ray petals.
Fruits: Cypselae are columnar, ~1/16″ (2–2.5 mm) long.
Habitats: Dry to medium wet decidious forests and woodlands, trail edges.
This hawkweed comparison table is an aid to identifying hawkweeds and similar-appearing species.
Online References:
8/17/2020 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 7 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm) 
8/12/2023 · Highlands Trail via Pismire Bluffs Trail, Raymond Community Forest, Raymond, Maine · ≈ 7 × 7″ (19 × 18 cm) 
7/23/2017 · Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Pennsylvania · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 11 cm) 
8/2/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 5″ (18 × 13 cm) 
8/21/2013 · Estuary Trail, Shipley Swamp, Westford, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm) 
8/4/2009 · Near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 1 × 1½′ (33 × 52 cm) 
6/18/2015 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm) 
8/21/2013 · Estuary Trail, Shipley Swamp, Westford, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 6″ (20 × 15 cm) 
7/23/2017 · Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Pennsylvania · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 8.8 cm) 
6/18/2015 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 6″ (18 × 14 cm) 
7/20/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, East Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 6″ (18 × 16 cm) 
6/18/2015 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 16 cm) 
8/2/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 15 × 10″ (39 × 26 cm) 
7/18/2010 · Great Brook Farm State Park, Carlisle, Massachusetts · ≈ 12 × 9″ (31 × 23 cm) 
ID is uncertain 
6/18/2015 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 6″ (20 × 16 cm) 
7/20/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, East Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 7″ (18 × 17 cm) 
8/21/2013 · Estuary Trail, Shipley Swamp, Westford, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 5″ (15 × 12 cm) 
7/20/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, East Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm) 
7/23/2017 · Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Pennsylvania · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm) 
6/18/2015 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 10 × 7″ (25 × 16 cm) 
7/18/2010 · Great Brook Farm State Park, Carlisle, Massachusetts · ≈ 10 × 7″ (24 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain 
8/12/2023 · Highlands Trail via Pismire Bluffs Trail, Raymond Community Forest, Raymond, Maine · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm) 
8/17/2020 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 14 cm) 
8/2/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 11 × 7″ (27 × 18 cm) 
8/21/2013 · Estuary Trail, Shipley Swamp, Westford, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 5″ (15 × 12 cm) 
7/18/2010 · Great Brook Farm State Park, Carlisle, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 8″ (18 × 20 cm) ID is uncertain 
8/6/2025 · Linekin Preserve and Burley Loop, Boothbay, Maine · ≈ 9 × 7″ (24 × 17 cm) 
8/6/2025 · Linekin Preserve and Burley Loop, Boothbay, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 10 cm) 
8/6/2025 · Linekin Preserve and Burley Loop, Boothbay, Maine · ≈ 4 × 5″ (10 × 12 cm) 
8/21/2013 · Estuary Trail, Shipley Swamp, Westford, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Asterales | Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies |
| Family | Asteraceae | The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers |
| Genus | Hieracium | From Greek hierakion, “a hawk,” from Pliny’s belief that hawks strengthened their eyesight by eating these plants |
| Species | paniculatum | With flowers in panicles |
Hieracium paniculatum description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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