Wild and Weedy Wednesday: Ragwort

I am sharing a weed this week that is arguably not really a weed but a valuable wild flower. I will let you decide!

Jacobaea vulgaris (Ragwort)

Anyone who has kept horses or cattle will know that Common Ragwort, Jacobaea vulgaris (or Senecio jacobaea), is feared and must be removed from meadows and hay as it is highly poisonous to grazers. With that in mind, we have already removed some from our meadow this year when it started going to seed. Neighbours one field away have horses and we would hate it to spread to their pasture.

 

However, it is also a very valuable native wild flower for pollinators, with a high pollen content for a long period of time. One plant will continue producing flowers from July to September and their dazzlingly bright golden yellow attracts insects from far and wide.

 

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As you can see in these photos, Common Ragwort plants are quite tall, around 1 metre or more, rising above the tall grasses in the meadow.

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There are 13 petals on each flower, which measure about 1.5 or 2 cm across, and there are numerous flowers in dense clusters on each plant.

Its name ‘Jacobaea’ comes from the flowering time – usually around the July 25th which is St. Jacob’s Day – this confirms that we are still a week or so ahead of ‘usual’ as they have been flowering for a couple of weeks now. An excellent phenological indicator for ‘late summer’ and traditionally when the harvest is brought in.

By the way, a German folk saying is that if St Jacob’s Day is clear and fine, Christmas will be frosty…. (Jakobi klar und rein, wird’s Christfest frostig sein)

Not only is the pollen of value, but the flowers are also used in herbal medicine – internally in homeopathic treatments, but otherwise only externally due to its high toxicity, for treating arthritis, rheumatism or other inflammatory conditions.

Some other facts about Ragwort:

• It is the national flower of the Isle of Man
• One of its common names is Stinking Nanny (!) due to the smell of the leaves
• In Irish Folklore, fairies used the flowers for transport to the Emerald Isle from the Isle of Arran
• Its adaptability and capability to endure harsh conditions make it the symbol for resilience
• John Clare, 19th Century poet from my home county of Northamptonshire wrote this poem about Ragwort:

Ragwort, thou humble flower with tattered leaves
I love to see thee come & litter gold,
What time the summer binds her russet sheaves;
Decking rude spots in beauties manifold,
That without thee were dreary to behold,
Sunburnt and bare– the meadow bank, the baulk
That leads a wagon-way through mellow fields,
Rich with the tints that harvest’s plenty yields,
Browns of all hues; and everywhere I walk
Thy waste of shining blossoms richly shields
The sun tanned sward in splendid hues that burn
So bright & glaring that the very light
Of the rich sunshine doth to paleness turn
And seems but very shadows in thy sight.

Have you come across this plant? How do you feel about it? Would you remove it from your garden if it grew there?

Finally, its cousin Senecio fuchsii (also Senecio ovatus), Wood Ragwort, is growing in a clearing in the woods near us.

In winter a lot of small trees were removed after some storms, disturbing the ground and making a clearing among the trees.

A beautiful Foxglove grew there in spring (see the tall seedhead still standing on the left?), and now a large Himalaya Balsam plant stands in the centre surrounded by Wood Ragwort. A lovely sight I think!

Himalaya Balsam, Wood Ragwort and Small Balsam

Thanks for reading, and Happy Weeding!