A diary of back garden botany, urban ecology, rural rambles and field trips to the middle of nowhere...
Sunday, 3 June 2018
Here's a pretty flower with a curious name: Fox and Cubs (Pilosella aurantica) from the Daisy (Asteraceae) family. I can't see any connection to foxes nor can I fathom one of its other common names: Grim-the-collier. It's also been called Orange Hawk-bit and Devil's Paintbrush which make a bit more sense I suppose.
P. aurantica is native to alpine regions of central and southern Europe but makes a charming garden plant at lower elevations. It can spread considerably by its running root stock and I see it naturalised as a non-native wildflower here and there- as above where it has taken hold in the overgrown fringes of a neighbouring allotment.