ragwort

The plant is generally considered to be biennial but it has the tendency to exhibit perennial properties under certain cultural conditions (such as when subjected to repeated grazing or mowing). The stems are erect, straight, have no or few hairs, and reach a height of 0.3–2.0 metres (1 ft 0 in – 6 ft 7 in). The leaves are pinnately lobed and the end lobe is blunt. The many names that include the word "stinking" (and Mare's Fart) arise because of the unpleasant smell of the leaves. The hermaphrodite flower heads are 1.5–2.5 centimetres (0.6–1.0 in) diameter, and are borne in dense, flat-topped clusters; the florets are bright yellow. It has a long flowering period lasting from June to November (in the Northern Hemisphere). Pollination is by a wide range of bees, flies and moths and butterflies. Over a season, one plant may produce 2,000 to 2,500 yellow flowers in 20- to 60-headed, flat-topped corymbs. The achenes have dandelion-like groups of prickly hairs called pappuses, which help seed dispersal by the wind. The number of seeds produced may be as large as 75,000 to 120,000, although in its native range in Eurasia very few of these would grow into new plants and research has shown that most seeds do not travel a great distance from the parent plant.

Ragwort is native to the Eurasian continent. In Europe it is widely spread, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean. In Great Britain and Ireland, where it is native, it is listed as an injurious weed under the weeds act and Ragwort Control Act. Ragwort is common in disturbed soil such as in waste land, waysides and grazing pastures. Its natural habitat is sand dunes, but it is commonly found along road sides, railways and in light, low fertility soil. It has been introduced in many other regions, and is listed as a weed in many. These include:

North America: The United States, present mainly in the northwest and northeast: California, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington; South America: Argentina; Africa: North Africa; Asia: India and Siberia; Australasia: a widespread weed in New Zealand and Australia.

The Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides (c. 40–90 CE) recommended the herb. The two "fathers" of herbalism, Gerard and Culpeper, also recommended the herb. Culpeper was an astrological botanist and thought the plant was "under the command of Dame Venus, and [it] cleanses, digests, and discusses." The poet John Clare had a more positive opinion of the plant, as revealed in this poem of 1831:

Ragwort thou humble flower with tattered leaves I love to see thee come and litter gold... Thy waste of shining blossoms richly shields The sun tanned sward in splendid hues that burn So bright and glaring that the very light Of the rich sunshine doth to paleness turn And seems but very shadows in thy sight. The ragwort, under its Manx name Cushag, is the national flower of the Isle of Man According to one story King Orry chose as his emblem the cushag flower, as its twelve petals represent the isles of the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles: the Isle of Man, Arran, Bute, Islay, Jura, Mull, Iona, Eigg, Rum, Skye, Raasay, and the Outer Hebrides. The ragwort, in fact, usually has thirteen petals. …