GOLDEN RAGWORT 



Ssnecio aureus L. 



May Few Composites blossom earl}^ in the season. Most of 



Deep woods them seem to require a good deal of time to develop 

 proper plants and flower heads, but in May the golden 

 ragwort suddenly blooms. It and the dandelions often are the only 

 yellow Composites to make their appearance before liigh siunmer, 



Eagwort or groundsel comes in mid-May in woods where the last of 

 the wild blue phlox still is scattered among the growing substrata of 

 plants in the woodland. The ragwort presents a bright splash of color 

 on a dark, damp hillside — such bright golden, miniature yellow asters 

 catch the decreased sunlight which penetrates the leaf canopy and mag- 

 nifies it all out of proportion to its true amount. 



Eagwort starts with a Ijasal rosette of dark green, glossy leaves which 

 are oval and slightly toothed. As the stems begin to gi'ow, the leaves 

 upon them are different in shape, often spade-shaped, deeply toothed 

 or lobed, and up the stem the leaves are so deej)]}- cut that they appear 

 almost compound. Tbe uppermost leaves are much like those of tansy or 

 betony. Above them are the many-branched lieads of flowers with their 

 l^right yellow rays and orange-yellow centers. Tlie jjlaut is a juicy one, 

 easily wilting, with none of that weediness of growth wliich so connnonlv 

 characterizes the yellow Composites of summertime. 



The butterweed (Senecio glahellus) grows two to three feet tall 

 and has hollow, stout, ridged, glossy stalks. The flowers, similar in fonn 

 to those of golden ra.sr^vort, are produced in a flat, broad cluster at the 

 top of the stem. The basal leaves are large and deeply cut, the stem 

 leaves growing smaller up the stem. Buttenveed is found in wet woods 

 and at the edges of swamps from April to June. 



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