Rattlesnake Hawkweed
Hieracium venosum
Found in dry forests, woodland margins, roadsides. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 1.5 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- April to September
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 20 West Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 73 animals.
- White-winged CrossbillLoxia leucoptera
Widespread birds also seen here (49)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- Alder Flycatcher
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Redstart
- American Robin
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-billed Cuckoo
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Raven
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Towhee
- European Starling
- Fox Sparrow
- Gray Catbird
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Great Horned Owl
- Least Flycatcher
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Olive-sided Flycatcher
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Osprey
- Purple Finch
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- Veery
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Hieracium
- Cucullia floreaGray Hooded Owlet
- Dichomeris levisella
- Oxyptilus delawaricus
6BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Hieracium
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
2BirdsRecorded eating Hieracium in West Virginia
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes West Virginia, most records first.
- Ruffed Grouse6 diet records
- Pine Grosbeak1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Birds that eat Hieracium 2
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Ruffed GrouseBonasa umbellus
- Pine GrosbeakPinicola enucleator
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Flower color
- Yellow
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 1.5 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Rattlesnake Weed
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- West Virginia occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications