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Senecio jacobaea

Common name:	Ragwort	Family:	Compositae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	All parts of the plant are poisonous[4, 19]. The plant contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, in isolation these substances are highly toxic to the liver and have a cumulative affect even when the whole plant is consumed[65, 254].
Range:	Europe, including Britain, south and east from Scandanavia to N. Africa, Caucasua and W. Asia.
Habitat:	Waste ground and pastures on all but the poorest soils[4, 17]. It is often only an annual[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	S. jacobae[E]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Common Ragwort [L], Hierba De Santiago [E], Jakobskruiskruid [D], Ragwort [H,E], Stinking Willie [P,L], Stinking-willie [B], Tansy Ragwort [L,E], Yakubun Kanaryaotu [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Britain Eurasia Romania Spain Turkey
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmaina.
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: UK.

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m by 0.5m . It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from June to October, and the seeds ripen from July to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies and Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies). The plant is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Meadow, Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent Diaphoretic Diuretic Emmenagogue Expectorant Homeopathy.

The plant is astringent, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue and expectorant[9, 21]. The plant is harvested as it comes into flower and is dried for later use[9]. Use with caution[21], when applied internally it can cause severe damage to the liver[9]. See also the notes above on toxicity.
An emollient poultice is made from the leaves[4].
The juice of the plant is cooling and astringent, it is used as a wash in burns, sores, cancerous ulcers and eye inflammations[4]. It makes a good gargle for ulcerated mouths and throats and is also said to take away the pain of a bee sting[4]. Caution is advised here since the plant is poisonous and some people develop a rash from merely touching this plant[K].
A decoction of the root is said to be good for treating internal bruises and wounds[4].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant[9]. It is used in the treatment of dysmenorrhoea and other female complaints, internal haemorrhages and other internal disorders[9].

Other Uses

Dye.

A good green dye is obtained from the leaves, though it is not very permanent[4, 115].
A yellow dye is obtained from the flowers when alum is used as a mordant[4, 115, 168]. Brown and orange can also be obtained[168].

Cultivation details

Succeeding on all but the poorest soils, this plant is a declared noxious weed in Britain spreading freely by seed. It should not be cultivated other than in controlled conditions for scientific research. Ragwort can be eradicated by pulling it up just before it comes into flower, or by cutting it down as the flowers begin to open (this latter may need to be repeated about six weeks later)[4].
Ragwort is a good food plant for the caterpillars of many butterfly and moth species, and is one of only two species that provide food for cinnabar moth caterpillars.

Propagation

A noxious weed, it doesn't need any help in spreading itself about.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Senecio jacobae (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[19] Stary. F. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn 1983 ISBN 0-600-35666-3
Not very comprehensive, but easy reading.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[65] Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Wolfe 1984 ISBN 0723408394
Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.

[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.

[168] Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974 ISBN 0-02-544950-8
A very good and readable book on dyeing.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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