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Leontodon hispidus - L.

Rough Hawkbit

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Compositae	Genus	Leontodon
Synonyms
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to Spain, the Caucasus and Iran.
Habitat	Meadows, roadside verges etc, usually on calcareous soils and avoiding shade[12, 17].
Edibility Rating	2 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	1 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.45m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Meadow;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves.

Edible Uses: Coffee.

Young leaves - raw or cooked[12, 100]. Neither the taste nor the texture are by any means wonderful, but the leaves are acceptable raw, particularly since they can be available in the late winter. The roasted root is a coffee substitute[46, 61, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Diuretic.

The herb is diuretic[4]. An infusion is used in the treatment of kidney complaints and as a remedy for dropsy and jaundice[4].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

An easily grown and tolerant plant[K], it prefers a sunny position in a well-drained soil[200] and does well on clay. A good bee and butterfly plant[108, 200], it grows well in the spring meadow[24].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in situ, only just covering the seed. Very fast germination. The seed can also be sown in the spring. If you are short of seed it can be sown in a pot in the cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in early summer.

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: The Edible Lawn.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[12] Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles 0 ISBN 0-7153-7971-2
A handy pocket guide.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[24] Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden. 0
Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[108] International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981
The title says it all.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

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