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Common ragwort / Llysiau'r cingroen / Seneca Jacobaea
Flowers June - October
| This tall and abundant plant (up to 4ft) provides glorious swathes of Summer gold by roadsides and in waste places and meadows throughout most of Britain. It tends to stand out in the meadows because grazing animals don't like it, but crop all the grass and other vegetation around it. Unfortunately it is now falling victim of the current craze for persecuting plant and animal species that are considered too successful (along with the 'escapes' and 'invading' species). The excuse in this case is that it allegedly makes horses ill, and there is now an act of parliament aimed at 'controlling' it. This is a disaster for the many species of insect that rely on ragwort - see the excellent Buglife website. The creature you're most likely to see chomping away on common ragwort is the distinctive yellow-and-black-striped caterpillar of the attractive cinnabar moth. |
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