Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Urospermum picroides (L.) Scop. ex F.W. Schmidt

Synonyms

Tragopogon picroides L.

Family

Asteraceae (Queensland, New South Wales, the  ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory)
Compositae (South Australia)

Common Names

false hawkbit, prickly goldenfleece, urospermum

Origin

Native to northern Africa, the Azores, the Madeira Islands, the Canary Islands, southern Europe, the middle-east, western Asia and Pakistan.

Naturalised Distribution

Widely naturalised in southern Australia (i.e. in south-eastern Queensland, some parts of western New South Wales, western Victoria, many parts of South Australia and large parts of south-western and western Western Australia).

Also naturalised overseas in south-western USA (i.e. California), South Africa and South America.

Notes

False hawkbit (Urospermum picroides) is regarded as an environmental weed in Western Australia. It has extensively invaded limestone outcrops in conservation reserves in the Shark Bay region, and is listed among the top ten coastal weeds for the Gascoyne region (i.e. from Shark Bay to Onslow).