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Water ragwort

Senecio hydrophilus

Also called Alkali Marsh Butterweed, Alkali Marsh Ragwort, Great Swamp Ragwort, Water Groundsel

Water ragwort
Photo: Mr. & Mrs. Robert G. Young., Public domain

Water ragwort is a native North American marsh perennial (sometimes biennial) that grows in swampy places, including standing alkaline or salty water. It needs consistently wet roots, so it suits boggy, pond-edge or constantly moist sites.

Family
Asteraceae (Daisy family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Keep the roots constantly wet or standing in shallow water; it tolerates standing water.
Soil
Wet, mucky or clay-rich soil, including alkaline or saline marsh soil.
Temperature
Hardy in cold winters; native from British Columbia to Colorado and California, so protect from prolonged frozen waterlogging in very cold climates.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
W. Canada to W. & WC. U.S.A.

About

Senecio hydrophilus is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names water ragwort and alkali-marsh ragwort. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in swampy places such as marshes. It can grow in standing water, including alkaline and salty water. It is a biennial or perennial herb producing a single upright stem or a cluster of a few stems which may exceed one meter in maximum height, at times approaching two meters. The stem is hollow, waxy in texture, and often pale green in color, and it emerges from a small caudex. The thick leaves are lance-shaped to oval with smooth or toothed edges, the blades up to 20 centimeters long and borne on petioles. Smaller leaves occur higher up the stem. The inflorescence is one or more large, spreading clusters of many flower heads.

Other Senecio plants

Cutleaf burnweed · Yellow Starvation Ragwort · Senecio adenotrichius · Texas ragwort · Creeping groundsel · Senecio antandroi · Senecio antisanae · Senecio antofagastanus · Chaparral ragwort · Senecio apolobambensis · Senecio aquilaris · Senecio argutus

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Senecio hydrophilus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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