Perennial
It is a well know perennial wildflower - growing to 1m in height - a mass of leafy stems with clusters of yellow daisy like flowers. Each individual flower (15-25mm across) has many spreading ray florets and a centre of disc florets. Behind the corolla are black-tipped, overlapping bracts

Insects - Butterflies
Insects and butterflies simply love these yellow wildflowers

Common Names and Fairies
Ragwort has gathered over the ages plenty of "common names" by which it is known - Bowlocks, Devildrums, Dog-stalk, Stinking Nanny, Stinking-Davies, to name but a few. It has associations with "fairies" - especially in the Scottish Highlands and Islands

Seed Dispersal
Ragwort is deep rooting and can regenerate from its roots. Seeds from the florets are carried by the wind usually - however in wet weather the seed heads stay closed and the seeds are not shed.

Ragwort seeds may also be dispersed by water. The seeds float to begin with - then sink but float again as they begin to germina

Poisonous to Horses - Not to Sheep
Birds may eat the seeds but the seeds are rarely found in bird droppings. Seeds that are eaten by sheep pass through the digestive system undamaged. Unfortunately this is not so for horses to whom the plant is highly poisonous.