Hieracium lucidum, the Sicilian sparviere, is a rare wild perennial hawkweed found only on the chalky, windswept sea cliffs of Monte Gallo near Palermo, Sicily. It is critically endangered and is not a common garden plant, so cultivation advice is limited; it prefers cool, wet, nitrogen-rich seaside conditions.
Family
Asteraceae (Daisy family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Keep the soil lightly moist in the growing season; avoid waterlogging, as it grows in windy, wet coastal sites.
Soil
Well-drained, chalky or limestone-based soil, lean to moderately fertile.
Temperature
Cool to mild temperate conditions; protect from hard frost.
How easy
Hard
Native range
NW. Sicilia
Climate
temperate
About
Hieracium lucidum, or Sicilian sparviere, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is very similar to Hieracium cophanense. Hieracium lucidum is a perennial herb that prefers the northern slopes of chalky seaside cliffs exposed to wet winds, including sites rich in nitrates from sea bird droppings. Unlike most other hawkweeds, this species reproduces only from seeds.
Where it grows
Hieracium lucidum is found only in Sicily; its range is limited to Mt. Gallo, near Palermo. Due to the extremely limited area in which it is found, which is estimated to be 0.2 km2 (0.1 sq mi), the species is listed by the IUCN Red List as critically endangered.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Hieracium lucidum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.