Fox-and-Cubs (Pilosella aurantiaca) has started flowering at the end of our garden. It’s a cheery, cheeky sort of plant, which makes me smile when I see it.

Also known as Orange Hawkweed, Fox-and-Cubs is a perennial which spreads both by seed and stoloniferous runners. Its leaves grow in rosettes low to the ground, so it can survive – and indeed thrives – in mown grassland, such as road verges and churchyards. It is a neophyte which was introduced into UK gardens in the 1620s and had escaped into the wild by the late eighteenth century. It is now found through much of the British Isles. It makes a good garden plant, though only for tolerant gardeners, as it will seed itself into bare soil.

Fox-and-Cubs is a member of the daisy family, Asteraceae. Its leaves and stems are covered in dark hairs. Each of its flowerheads is made up of many orange ray florets. Its orange flowers mark it out as something a bit special – most of its relatives (such as Bristly Ox-tongue, Cat’s-ear and Dandelion) have yellow flowers.

The name Fox-and-Cubs (sometimes written without the hyphens) refers to the way that the unopened flower buds hide beneath those that have opened. The herbalist and botanist John Gerard called the plant Grim-the-Collier (Grimme the Collier), possibly because its hairs resemble coal dust on a miner’s beard. Other names include Devil’s Paintbrush, Orange Hawkbit and Tawny Hawkbit. (Hawks were thought to have eaten the flowers.) The plant’s scientific name is more matter of fact: Pilosella means ‘with small white hairs’ and aurantiaca means ‘orange’.

My photograph doesn’t really do this plant full justice. Fortunately there are some lovely photographs of Fox-and-Cubs on the Wild Flower Finder and Naturespot websites.

Coincidentally, there is a foxes’ den next door and for the last month we have enjoyed watching real foxes and cubs playing at dusk.