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Senecio sylvaticus

Common name:	Mountain Groundsel	Family:	Compositae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	All parts of the plant are poisonous to many mammals, including humans. The toxin affects the liver and has a cumulative affect[9, 65]. Some mammals, such as rabbits, do not seem to be harmed by the plant, and will often seek it out[4]. Various birds also eat the leaves and seeds[4].
Range:	Europe, including Britain, south and east from Scandanavia to Spain the Balkans and W. Asia.
Habitat:	In open vegetation on non-calcareous sandy or gravelly soils, dry heaths and commons[4, 17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Boskruiskruid [D], Heath Groundsel [L], Mountain Groundsel [H], Woodland Groundsel [L], Woodland Ragwort [B,P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	sylvaticus = growing in the woods, wild;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.6m by 0.6m . It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees and flies. The plant is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Meadow, Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiscorbutic; Detergent.

The plant is detergent and antiscorbutic[4].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

See the plants native habitat for ideas on its cultivation needs.
The plant has an unpleasant odour[4].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in situ.

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
[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.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for senecio sylvaticus (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

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

References

[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.

[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.

[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.

Readers Comments

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Bibliography

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
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Senecio+sylvaticus
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Senecio+sylvaticus

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.