Narrow-leaved Ragwort

Senecio inaequidens

Please keep in mind that it is illegal to uproot a plant without the landowner's consent and care should be taken at all times not to damage wild plants. Wild plants should never be picked for pleasure and some plants are protected by law.
For more information please download the BSBI Code of Conduct PDF document.

Plant Data

Flowering Months:

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

Order:

Asterales

Family:

Asteraceae (Daisy)

Also in this family:

Annual Sunflower, Autumn Hawkbit, Beaked Hawksbeard, Black Knapweed, Black-eyed Susan, Blanketflower, Blue Fleabane, Blue Globe-thistle, Bristly Oxtongue, Butterbur, Canadian Fleabane, Canadian Goldenrod, Carline Thistle, Chalk Knapweed, Coltsfoot, Common Blue Sow-thistle, Common Cat's-ear, Common Daisy, Common Dandelion, Common Fleabane, Common Goldenrod, Common Groundsel, Common Michaelmas Daisy, Common Mugwort, Common Ragwort, Corn Marigold, Cornflower, Creeping Thistle, Dwarf Thistle, Feverfew, Fox and Cubs, Goat's Beard, Greater Burdock, Greater Knapweed, Grey-headed Hawkweed, Heath Groundsel, Hemp Agrimony, Hoary Ragwort, Lavender-cotton, Lesser Burdock, Lesser Hawkbit, Marsh Cudweed, Marsh Ragwort, Marsh Thistle, Mexican Fleabane, Mouse-ear Hawkweed, Musk Thistle, New England Hawkweed, Nipplewort, Oxeye Daisy, Oxford Ragwort, Perennial Cornflower, Perennial Sow-thistle, Pineapple Mayweed, Ploughman's Spikenard, Pot Marigold, Prickly Lettuce, Prickly Sow-thistle, Red-seeded Dandelion, Rough Hawkbit, Scented Mayweed, Scentless Mayweed, Sea Aster, Sea Mayweed, Seaside Daisy, Shaggy Soldier, Shasta Daisy, Shrub Ragwort, Silver Ragwort, Smooth Hawksbeard, Smooth Sow-thistle, Sneezeweed, Sneezewort, Spear Thistle, Tansy, Trifid Bur-marigold, Tyneside Leopardplant, Wall Lettuce, Yarrow

Type:

Flower

Maximum Size:

70 centimetres tall

Habitats:

Roadsides, seaside, waterside.

Flower:

Yellow, many petals

Lemon-coloured flowerheads reaching 2.5cm across, dark-tipped bracts.

Fruit:

The fruits of Ragwort are technically referred to as 'achenes' and are dispersed by the wind. In this species, the achenes are cylindrical, between 2-2.5mm long and are covered in fine hairs between the ribs that are present on the outside surface. The white pappus is 2 to 3 times as long as the achenes.

Leaves:

Bright green, alternate and simple with small auricles present on both sides where they meet the stem. The stalkless leaves can be very variable but are normally long (4-14cm) and slender (from 0.3mm to 1cm wide). The Latin part of the plant name "inaequidens" means "irregular tooth", hence the margins of the leaves being irregularly toothed. However, the leaves are usually without any teeth at all (entire). The long, slender leaves are the main distinguishing feature of this Ragwort species.

Other Names:

South African Ragwort.

Frequency (UK):

Occasionally seen

Distribution Map

Reproduced by kind permission of the BSBI.

Click to open an Interactive Map