- Ragwort (Senecio jacobea)
- This plant is the exclusive food of the Cinnabar catepillar which gives rise
to the Cinnabar Moth . By feeding on this weed the caterpillars convert the
toxins to a substance which makes them unpalatable to birds who do not eat them
. Ragwort is a toxic plant and can cause liver damage in horses .Horses
naturally avoid it but sometimes owners bale poor quality hay and be eaten
without the horse knowing !!
Poisonous biennial or perennial of grazed grassland and verges. Widespread and
common throughout. Leaves are pinnately divided with a blunt end lobe.
Flat-topped clusters of yellow flower heads, 15 to 25mm across, appear June tp
November.Height up to 1m