Botanical name: Jacobaea vulgaris    Family: Asteraceae (Sunflower family)
Synonyms: Senecio jacobaea, Senecio nitidus, Senecio laciniatus

Common Ragwort The plant is biennial or perennial. Stems are erect, straight, hairless, reaching a height of 1-6 ft. The leaves are oblong-obovate, up to 15 x 3-4 cm, papery, pinnately lobed and the end lobe is blunt. The many names that include the word "stinking" arise because of the unpleasant smell of the leaves. Flower-heads are up to 2.5 cm across, with yellow ray florets around a centre of yellow disc florets, a ring of narrow green bracts below, and a few short bractlets at the base of the involucre. Ray florets are 12 to 15; yellow, oblong, 8-10 x 2-2.5 mm, 4-veined, 3-finely toothed at tip. Flowers are borne in a flat-topped cluster, of up to 60 flower-heads. Common Ragwort is found in meadows, lax forests in Europe to Siberia and Caucasus, Morocco, at altitudes of 500-2000 m. It has naturalized in Kashmir. Flowering: June-November.

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The flower labeled Common Ragwort is ...