W168 

 (leaf 2) 



clusters. The bracts at the base of the flower head are narrow, long-taper- 

 pointed, and somewhat thick and fleshy, but not thickened or keeled on the 

 back. The petallike ray flowers are about three-eighths of an inch long. The 

 body of the "seeds" is hairless (glabrous) but crowned with bristlelike hairs 

 (pappus) characteristic of all species of Senecio. Clawsou 3 reports that this 

 species, although poisonous to cattle and horses, apparently does not affect 

 sheep. Furthermore, he confirms the statements of Van Es and associates 4 

 that lambstongue groundsel probably never causes trouble on the range or in 

 pastures, possibly because the plants appear only when good forage is fairly 

 abundant, and largely mature, and desiccate before other forage becomes scarce. 

 For practical purposes this Senecio appears to be dangerous only when abundant 

 in hay areas. 



Ragwort (8. jacobae'a,), a native of Europe, also known as giant ragwort, 

 staggerwort, stinking willie, and tansy ragwort, has become naturalized in 

 northeastern America and other parts of the world. The distribution of this 

 aggressive plant, a menace to cattle wherever it occurs, is extending and it will 

 probably reach the range country eventually if, in fact, it is not there now. In 

 ] 006 Pethick published the results of his feeding experiments, demonstrating 

 that this species was the cause of Pictou cattle disease in Canada. Gilruth's 

 investigation 8 in New Zealand showed that Winton disease, a condition affecting 

 both cattle and horses and very similar to Pictou disease, was caused by rag- 

 wort. This species is a hairless or somewhat woolly, perennial herb, with stout, 

 very leafy stems, 2 to 4 feet high, from short, thick rootstocks. The rather 

 finely divided leaves are 2 to 8 inches long and the short-stalked, very numerous 

 flower heads are about one-half to three-fourths of an inch wide. The bracts 

 of the narrowly bell-shaped involucre are linear-lance-shaped, pointed, green or 

 tipped with black. The body of the seedlike fruits developed from the central 

 (disk) flowers is hairy; the bodies of those of the marginal, petallike flowers 

 (rays) are hairless. Ragwort is a nonofficial drug. Decoctions of it were 

 formerly employed as a mouth wash and throat gargle and in the treatment of 

 catarrh and quinsy. The juice was reputedly very good for healing wounds. 

 Other species of Senecio, notably common groundsel (S. vulga'ris), useful in the 

 treatment of kidney disorders and as an emetic, were also used by the early 

 herbalists. 



It is of interest to note that, with the exception of the genus Baccharis, cer- 

 tain species of Senecio are the only members of the immense composite family 

 definitely known to contain well-defined alkaloids in appreciable amounts. 

 These alkaloids are rather toxic and produce cumulative effects. 7 



The native species of Senecio are little known horticulturally, although some 

 species are occasionally grown as border plants. Among the species most fre- 

 quently cultivated are silver cineraria (S. cinera'rfa) , of the Mediterranean 

 region, often called dusty miller ; cineraria, familiarly known as florists' cinera- 

 ria (8. crucn'tus), of the Canary Islands, with its numerous hybrids; the South 

 African species, purple groundsel (8. el'egans) and ivy groundsel (8. mika- 

 nioi'des), the latter frequently termed German-ivy; velvet groundsel (8. peta- 

 sitis), of Mexico, well known as California-geranium, and Uruguay groundsel 

 (8. pul'oher). The genera of gardeners known as Cineraria, Jacobaea^ and 

 Kleinia belong to the genus Senecio. 



3 * See footnotes on preceding page. 



B Pethick, W. H. REPORT [ON PICTOU CATTLE DISEASE]. Canada Dept. Agr. Rept. 

 1904 : 96-99. 1905. 



8 Gilruth, J. A. HEPATIC CIRRHOSIS AFFECTING HORSES AND CATTLE (so CALLED "WINTON 

 DISEASE"). New Zeal. Dept. Agr., Div. Vet. Sci. Rept. 1902-3 : 228-278. 1903. 



7 Manske, R. H. F. THE ALKALOIDS OF SENECIO SPECIES, i. THE NECINES AND NECIC 

 ACIDS FKOM s. RETRORSUS AND s. JAcoBAEA. Canad. Jour. Research 5 : 651-659. 1931. 



