Hawkweed

I am not sure if this is how this plant got its name .... but an ancient Greek named Phiny thought that hawks would suck the sap from these flowers to improve their eyesight. I, personally,  have never seen a hawk from the Americas eating Hawkweed. This flower is a member of the composite family. If you remember... composite flowers usually have two flowers, ray and disk flowers, like the sunflower or daisy, but the Hawkweed only have ray flowers. If you look closely at this flower in the wild you will notice it is covered with hairs, and if you bring along a magnifying glass you may notice that on the green bracts underneath the flower head there are glands at the very tip of each of the hairs.

Where I found it : in an open field