Hairy catsear
Hypochaeris radicata
Family: Asteraceae
Fire effect on plant
Hairy catsear may be top-killed by fire, but the root taproot can survive (Valbuena and Trabaud 2001).
Key traits
Deep tap roots support post-fire resprouting, and soil-stored seedbanks allow post-fire colonisation. Seeds are wind-dispersed.
Plant response to fire
Hairy catsear to tends to increase in abundance after a prescribed fire (Anzinger and Radosevich 2008). The high-light conditions produced by fire are likely to enhance hairy catsear populations.
Timing of life history
A perennial. In productive sites, seeds can be produced in the first growing season. Flowering June to September.
Conservation status
None.
References
Anzinger, D., Radosevich, S.R. 2008. Chapter 10: Fire and nonnative invasive plants in the Northwest Coastal bioregion. In: Zouhar, K., Smith, J. K., Sutherland, S., Brooks, M. L.. Wildland fire in ecosystems: fire and nonnative invasive plants. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-42-vol. 6. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 197-224 [Empirical evidence; Grey literature]
Valbuena, L., Trabaud, L. 2001. Contribution of the soil seed bank to post-fire recovery of a heathland. Plant Ecology 152: 175-183. [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]