Heath Groundsel

Senecio sylvaticus

Plant Data

Order:

Asterales

Family:

Asteraceae (Daisy)

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Flowers:

The yellow flowerheads are stalked, up to 5mm wide. The ray florets curl backwards, usually unlike those of the similar-looking shorter plant, Common Groundsel. The bracts are narrow and purple-tipped. Heath Groundsel flowerheads are more conical than those of Common Groundsel.

Fruit:

Ridged, brown and cylindrical achene with a pappus, up to 1 inch long.

Leaves:

An annual flower with narrowly lanceolate leaves and more deeply and irregular lobes than Common Groundsel. The leaves are alternate and short-stalked, however the upper leaves are stalkless. The leaf lobes are sparsely toothed and have entire margins. Heath Groundsel is a stickily downy plant.

Maximum Size:

75cm tall.

Foraging Notes:

The entire plant is poisonous to humans.
Never consume a wild plant unless you are 100% certain that it is safe to eat and you know that you have identified it correctly.

Aroma:

Smells slightly foetid.

Other Names:

Mountain Common Groundsel, Mountain Groundsel, Wood Groundsel, Woodland Ragwort.

Habitats:

Farmland, heathland, meadows, roadsides, sea cliffs, wasteland, woodland.