What is the Snowdonia Hawkweed?

The Snowdonia Hawkweed is a plant endemic to Snowdonia, North Wales. It is a perennial, with bright yellow inflorescences. The Snowdonia hawkweed can grow up to 30 cm tall. It forms a rosette of softly toothed lance-shaped leaves that narrow towards the base and forms a shaggy stalk. A slender stem supports a cluster of deep golden-yellow flower heads. The base of the flower heads is surrounded by a spiral of black, velvety bracts, known as an involucre. It was believed to have become extinct in the early 1950s as a result of overgrazing. The Snowdonia hawkweed disappeared after its discovery until 1967 when it was found in Cwm Idwal National Nature Reserve in Wales, U.K. This species became camera shy and was thought to have become extinct until 2002, when Dr. Tim Rich and his team of botanists found a single plant of Snowdonia hawkweed in the same location it was found in 1967. Interestingly, Dr. Rich had led another search for this plant in 2000 and failed to find anything but only two years later this plant caught his attention in an effort to save itself from the brink of extinction.

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