Family: chicories (Cichoriaceae)
Flowering time: July–September
Size: 25–80 cm
Habitat: forests, old walls, gravel and graveyards
Common hare's-ear (Mycelis muralis) is a perennial with an upright bare stem, which is branched in the upper part. It is leafy with bare, delicate lyrate leaves, with a triangular heart-shaped, deeply lobed terminal segment. The leaves are dark green on the upper side, bluish-green underneath. In the lower part of the stem the leaves are petiolate, the upper leaves are sessile and clasp the stem. At the top of the shoots many small yellow heads develop. In each head there are usually five flowers. The bare receptacle is 7 to 10 mm long. The mature achenes (fruits) are black with a short pale beak. They are 3 to 4 mm long.
Common hare's-ear grows on nutrient-rich, humus-rich, moist soils on moderately acidic substrates and on moderately warm sites, where it is protected from direct sunlight. It is widely distributed and one of the most common plant species in our country.
