Ragwort

Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) is a very common wild flower in the family Asteraceae that is found throughout Europe, usually in dry, open places, and has also been widely distributed as a weed elsewhere.

(For the North American species, see Packera obovata.)

Alternative names include Cushag (Isle of Man), Buachalán Buí (Ireland), Tansy Ragwort, St. James-wort, Ragweed, Stinking Nanny/Ninny/Willy, Staggerwort, Dog Standard, Cankerwort, Stammerwort and Mare's Fart. In the western US it is generally known as "Tansy Ragwort", or even more confusingly "Tansy", though its resemblance to the true tansy is superficial at best. This is a potentially dangerous misuse of names, since the true tansy has been used for culinary purposes.

Botanical description
The plant is biennial or perennial. The stems are erect, straight, have no or few hairs, and reach a height of 0.3-2.0 metres. 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 cm 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.

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. This number of seeds produced may be as large as 75,000 to 200,000, 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.

Taxonomy
Two subspecies are accepted:
 * Senecio jacobaea ssp. jacobaea - the typical plant, with ray florets present.
 * Senecio jacobaea ssp. dunensis - the ray florets are missing.

Distribution
Ragwort can be found along road sides and waste grounds, and grows in all cool and high rainfall areas.

The Ragwort is native to the Eurasian continent. In Europe it is widely spread, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean. In Britain and Ireland it is listed as a weed. In the USA it has been introduced, and is present mainly in the North West and North East: California, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

In South America it grows in Argentina, in Africa in the north, and on the Asian continent in India and Siberia. It is widespread weed in New Zealand and Australia. In many Australian states ragwort has been declared a noxious weed. This status requires landholders to remove it from their property, by law. The same applies to New Zealand where farmers sometimes bring in helicopters to spray their farms if the ragwort is too widespread.

Biological control
Ragwort is foodplant for the larvae of Cochylis atricapitana, Phycitodes maritima, and Phycitodes saxicolais. Ragwort is best known as the food of caterpillars of the Cinnabar moth Tyria jacobaeae. They absorb alkaloids from the plant and become distasteful to predators, a fact advertised by the black and yellow warning colours. The red and black, day-flying adult moth is also distasteful to many potential predators.

The moth is used as a control for ragwort in countries in which it has been introduced and become a problem, like New Zealand and the western United States. In New Zealand, the ragwort flea beetle (Longitarsus jacobaea) has been introduced to combat the plant.

Ragwort is hostplant for Longitarsus ganglbaueri.

Poisonous effects
Ragwort contains many different alkaloids, making it poisonous to animals. Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids have been reported by the WHO to be toxic to humans. (EHC 80,section 9.1.4). Alkaloids which have been found in the plant confirmend by the WHO report EHC 80 are -- jacobine, jaconine, jacozine, otosenine, retrorsine, seneciphylline, senecionine, and senkirkine (pp322 Appendix II). Other alkaloids claimed to be present but from an undeclared source are acetylerucifoline, (Z)-erucifoline, (E)-erucifoline, 21-hydroxyintegerrimine, integerrimine, jacoline, riddelline, senecivernine, spartioidine, and usaramine.

Ragwort is of concern to people who keep horses and cattle. In areas of the world where ragwort is a native plant, such as Britain and continental Europe, documented cases of proven poisoning are rare because the result of ragwort poisoning may only become apparent many months after ingestion of the alkaloids. Although horses do not normally eat ragwort due to its bitter taste. The result, if sufficient quantity is consumed, can be irreversible cirrhosis of the liver. Signs that a horse has been poisoned include yellow mucus membranes, depression, and lack of coordination. Animals may also resort to the consumption of ragwort when there is shortage of food. In rare cases they can even become addicted to it. Sheep, in marked contrast, eat small quantities of the plant with relish. The WHO warns however that sheep and goats suffer the same process of liver destruction but at a reduced rate to horses and pigs. They seem to profit slightly from eating it, according to some reports the alkaloids kill worms in the sheep's stomach.

The danger of Ragwort is that the toxin can have a cumulative effect. The alkaloid does not actually accumulate in the liver but a breakdown product can damage DNA and progressively kills cells. About 3-7% of the body weight is sometimes claimed as deadly for horses, but an example in the scientific literature exists of a horse surviving being fed over 20% of its body weight. The WHO warns that frequent ingestion of very small doses is just as harmful as ingesting one lethal dose in one meal. The WHO warns that humans using herbal remedies suffering jaundice from ingesting PAs have a high risk of death 18 months to 24 months later. The effect of low doses is lessened by the destruction of the original alkaloids by the action of bacteria in the digestive track before they reach the bloodstream. There is no known antidote or cure to poisoning, but at least one example is known from the scientific literature of a horse making a full recovery once consumption has been stopped.

Honey collected over Ragwort has been found to contain small quantities of jacoline, jacobine, jacozine, senecionine, and seneciphylline. One study completed by MAFF. The MAFF study may be viewed online at *Information Sheet 52

Republic of Ireland
In the Republic of Ireland, The Noxious Weeds (Thistle, Ragwort, and Dock) Order 1937, issued under The Noxious Weeds Act 1936, declares ragwort as a noxious weed, requiring landowners to control its growth.

United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, Common Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) is one of the five plants named as an injurious weed under the provisions of the Weeds Act 1959. The word injurious in this context indicates that it could be harmful to agriculture not that it is dangerous to animals, as all the other injurious weeds listed are non-toxic. Under the terms of this act, a land occupier can be required by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to prevent the spread of the plant. However, the growth of the plant is not made illegal by the act and there is no statutory obligation for control placed upon landowners in general.

A private member's bill, the Ragwort Control Bill, was introduced by John Greenway and was passed by the House of Commons in 2003. The act provides for a code of practice on ragwort but does not place any further legal responsibilities on landowners to control the plant.

Medicine
From medieval times to the mid 20th century, Ragwort was used against inflammations of the eye, for sore and cancerous ulcers, rheumatism, sciatica and gout, for painful joints.

According to some, it would relieve the pain of bee stings.

All applications should be outward only, never internally, and only under professional supervision.

With the large range of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which are known to inhibit or reduce cell division, some researchers hope to use them to slow down or arrest the growth of cells in cancer.

Other usage
In ancient Greece and Rome a supposed aphrodisiac was made from the plant; it was called satyrion.

Also, the leaves can be used to obtain good green dye, as yellow dye is obtained from the flowers, as can be done for brown and orange.

Literature and Poetry
The Greek physician Dioscorides (c.40-90 CE) recommended the herb. The two "fathers" of herbalism, Gerard and Culpeper, also recommended the herb.

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 & litter gold...
 * Thy waste of shining blossoms richly shields
 * The sun tanned sward in splendid hues that burn
 * So bright & glaring that the very light
 * Of the rich sunshine doth to paleness turn
 * & seems but very shadows in thy sight.

Josephine Kermode (1852-1937) wrote the following well-known poem about the Cushag.

"The Cushag"


 * Now, the Cushag, we know,
 * Must never grow,
 * Where the farmer's work is done.
 * But along the rills,
 * In the heart of the hills,
 * The Cushag may shine like the sun.
 * Where the golden flowers,
 * Have fairy powers,
 * To gladden our hearts with their grace.
 * And in Vannin Veg Veen,
 * In the valleys green,
 * The Cushags have still a place.

(Vannin Veg Veen is Manx for dear little Isle of Man)

Cultivation
Ragwort is not cultivated. There are no varieties known.

Trivia
Ragwort is wrongly called the national flower of the Isle of Man, where it is known as Cushag. The true national flower is the Mugwort ("Bollan Bane" in Manx)