Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

PRAIRIE GROUNDSEL

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Packera plattensis (Nutt. ) W.A. Weber & A. Löve

[=Senecio plattensis Nutt.]

Riley County, Kansas

Biennial or short-lived perennial

Height: 4-28 inches

Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family

Flowering Period: April, May, June

Also Called:

Prairie ragwort.

Stems:

Erect, single or rarely 2-3-clustered, generally unbranched, woolly-hairy below.

Leaves:

Alternate, stalked below, sessile above, sometimes purplish-tinged, woolly-hairy when young, nearly glabrous when mature; basal leaves elliptic-ovate to oblong-lanceolate, 1/2 to 4 inches long, 1/4 to 2 inches wide; margins toothed; stem leaves pinnately divided, irregularly dissected, or, nearly entire; upper leaves gradually reduced in size.

Inflorescences:

Flat-topped clusters of 6-20 heads, terminal; heads bell-shaped, about 1 inch wide; bracts frequently 13 or 21, about 1/4 inch long.

Flowers:

Ray florets 8-13, less than 1/2 inch long, yellow; disk florets numerous, corollas yellowish orange.

Fruits:

Achenes, ribbed, minutely hairy or glabrous, tipped with long, white, hair-like bristles, enclosing small seed.

Habitat:

Dry upland prairies and roadsides, on rocky, sandy or gravelly soils.

Distribution:

Nearly throughout Kansas.

Toxicity:

Prairie groundsel can be poisonous to cattle, and they are known to consume it. However, it rarely occurs in populations large enough to be a problem.

Prairie groundsel head