Hawksbeard is an important native plant for wildlife and livestock throughout the Rocky Mountains. It’s known as a steady plant, surviving various conditions from dry, open prairies to fir forests. In the spring, hawksbeard produces a bounty of bright yellow flowers that overwinter as rosettes. These rosettes store energy throughout the winter so the plant can grow again the following year. Native people ate the stems raw and pulverized the roots to soothe eye inflammation.