Field hawkweed (H. caespitosum)
Field hawkweed (Hieracium caespitosum) is very similar to king devil in upright growth habit and morphology but its leaves are a dull green to olive-reddish brown in colour and have more numerous leaf hairs on both surfaces. Hairs grow all over the underside of leaves in comparison with H. praealtum. Its flowerhead is also very similar, but has a less clustered, more open arrangement.
It is found throughout the high country from Marlborough to Otago, usually at sparse to low densities though greater localised abundance’s occur in parts of Marlborough. Exclosure studies in Canterbury
suggest it is capable of invading intact short tussock grassland but is less tolerant of grazing than H. pilosella (Espie 1994).
