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Ragwort – friend or foe?

A unique guidance leaflet on Common Ragwort - a cheerful yellow flower found on waysides and fields - has been published by Plantlife, The British Horse Society (BHS) and Butterfly Conservation.

July 12 2010

A bee feeds on a ragwort flower. © Beth Newman/Plantlife

A bee feeds on a ragwort flower. © Beth Newman/Plantlife

Aimed at landowners, farmers and visitors to the countryside, the guide reaches an agreement about how this contentious native plant should be managed. It is currently in full flower across Scotland.

Common ragwort is a native plant with yellow, daisy-like flowers. It is extremely toxic to grazing animals, particularly horses, where it results in irreversible liver damage.

As a natural part of our countryside, however, it supports many species of wildlife, including fungi and insects, which depend on it for their survival. It is a valuable source of nectar for butterflies, moths and hoverflies and is the sole food plant of Cinnabar Moth, a Priority Species on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.

There is no evidence that ragwort is increasing but, in an attempt to target the effective removal of plants from grazing land and to increase public awareness of its many benefits to biodiversity, a detailed guidance leaflet is now available.

Dr Deborah Long, Conservation Manager for Plantlife Scotland, said: “It is, of course, sensible to remove ragwort from grazing land but in other habitats it should be recognised as a valuable native plant which has a rightful place in our landscape. We encourage landowners to take the time to identify ragwort correctly as there have been unfortunate cases where other wildflowers, such as St John’s wort and tansy, have been destroyed needlessly as part of ragwort removal programmes”.

The leaflet is free and available from the offices and websites of Plantlife Scotland, British Horse Society Scotland, Butterfly Conservation Scotland and from SNH offices. You can download a copy here.

For more information:

Dr Deborah Long, Plantlife Scotland Tel. 01786 478509; email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)