Senecio vulgaris
Ordinary ragwort ( Senecio vulgaris)
The Common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris), also Groundsel or Ragwort nasty called, is one of the commonest species of the genus, the old man herbs from the sunflower family ( Asteraceae).
Features
It is a one-year or annual wintering herbaceous plant.
The Common ragwort is very easy to see under the old man herbs to its small size and the lack of ray florets. It reaches stature heights between 10 and 30 cm. The more or less barren leaves are pinnate or irregularly pinnate to ovate. The Fiederlappen are perforated or split.
The heads have a double hull. The outer shell is made of mostly ten narrow lanceolate or pfriemlichen small bracts, the upper part is dyed black or dark brown almost to half. The cylindrical or narrowed upwards flower heads are quite small: about 4 mm wide and 8 mm long and contain 60 to 80 hermaphrodite florets. Ray florets absent here completely, while the other ragwort species often have well-trained, but at least short and rolled back florets.
Ecology
The Common Ragwort is a Therophyt, summer or winterannuell (and then often half rosette plant ). The flowers are without Blühperiodizität and therefore bloom in winter. There are "basket flowers". The bracts are lying and spread apart to maturity. Pollinators are bees and hoverflies; spontaneous self-pollination is successful. The fruits are achenes with pappus; they are disseminated by the wind ( Schirmchenflieger ). The fruit wall is covered with soft hairs that secrete mucus threads in moisture. This is also the fruit in the seed bed attached ( Klebausbreitung ). Also hiding dissemination through meadows - ants of the genus Tetramorium is possible. As Ruderalpflanze it is also spread by humans. Fruit ripening is from March.
Occurrence
The Common Ragwort is a typical ruderal. It grows in the not too dry, nitrogen-rich places as possible in fields, in gardens, construction sites etc. It is often almost everywhere.
After Ellenberg it is a half-light plant, a freshness indicator and an outspoken nitrogen pointer and a Klassencharakterart of ruderal and related field and garden Beikrautgesellschaften ( Chenopodietea ).
The original distribution area included the temperate and meridional zones of Europe. But it has been dragged into the whole world and is now virtually in all temperate to subtropical areas.
Others
The plant has been used for a long time as a styptic for example, nosebleeds, but because of their toxicity by Pyrrolizidinalkaloide is not advisable.
Swell
- Siegmund Seybold (ed.): Schmeil - Fitschen interactive. CD -ROM, Version 1.1, Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2002, ISBN 3-494-01327-6.
- Ruprecht Duell, Herfried Kutzelnigg: Pocket Dictionary of Plants in Germany. A botanical and ecological excursion companion to the most important species. 6 completely revised edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2005, ISBN 3-494-01397-7.
- Heinz Ellenberg: vegetation of Central Europe with the Alps in ecological, dynamic and historical perspective ( = UTB Science Big Series Volume 8104. . ). 5 heavily modified and improved edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-8252-8104-3.