Seasonal Wild Flowers

Fox-and-cubs

Pilosella aurantiaca

Asteraceae

June to September

It is found throughout the country except for parts of

eastern areas and the South.

See the BSBI distribution map for Fox-and-cubs

It is a neophyte which was introduced into UK gardens

in the 1620s and noted in the wild as an escape in the

1790s.

It has beome naturalised in grassland, wasteland and

alongside roads and railways. I have seen it as a weed

in several lawns as far apart as Lancashire and Dorset.

Fox-and-cubs is a colourful, perennial herb, which spreads

by seed and long stoloniferous runners, and reaches up

to 40cm.

The orange-red-yellow flowers are up to 2cm across.

The flower buds and stems are covered in dense black

hairs.

The leaves are lanceolate and in a rosette at the base

of the stem.

This flower makes me smile. You find it in the most unlikely

places and the orange stands out against a sea of green.

Fox-and-cubs in grassland

Close-up of flowers

Black hairs on buds and stem

Basal rosette of leaves