Jacobaea vulgaris
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2008-07-07T21:49:46Z
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{{Taxobox
| image = Senecio jacobaea 20070603w.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Asterales]]
| familia = [[Asteraceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Asteroideae]]
| tribus = [[Senecioneae]]
| genus = ''[[Jacobaea]]''
| species = '''''J. vulgaris'''''
| binomial = ''Jacobaea vulgaris''
| binomial_authority = [[Joseph Gaertner|Gaertn.]] ([[De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum|1754]])
|synonyms =
''Senecio jacobaea'' L.<br/>
Sources: GRIN<ref name="GRIN">{{cite web
| url = http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?8654
| title = Genus: ''Othonna'' L.
| accessdate = 2008-05-22
| author = Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN)
| authorlink = Germplasm Resources Information Network
| date = 1996-09-17
| format = HTML
| work = Taxonomy for Plants
| publisher = [[United States Department of Agriculture|USDA]], [[Agricultural Research Service|ARS]], National Genetic Resources Program, National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland
}}</ref> UniProt,<ref name="UniProt">{{UniProt Taxonomy
| name = Species Senecio jacobaea
| id = 98722
| accessdate = 2008-06-29
}}</ref> IPNI<ref name="IPNI">{{IPNI
| id = 226649-1
| date = 2008-06-29
}}</ref>
}}
'''Ragwort''' ('''''Jacobaea vulgaris''''') 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.
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 [[pinnate]]ly 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 [[leaf|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 (In the northern Hemisphere).
Pollination is by a wide range of [[bee]]s, [[fly|flies]] and [[Lepidoptera|moths and butterflies]]. Over a season, one plant may produce 2,000 to 2,500 yellow flowers in 20- to 60-headed, flat-topped [[corymb]]s. 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 [[caterpillar]]s 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 both countries, the ragwort flea beetle (''[[Longitarsus jacobaeae]]'') has been introduced to combat the plant.
In the UK, where the plant is native, at least 30 species of invertebrate, many of them rare or declining, are entirely dependent on ragwort as a food source and hundreds of species will feed on its nectar, making it a vitally important component of the native flora.
Ragwort is [[hostplant]] for ''[[Longitarsus ganglbaueri]]''.
==Poisonous effects==
Ragwort contains many different [[alkaloid]]s, making it poisonous to animals. [http://www.inchem.org/documents/ehc/ehc/ehc080.htm (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 [[horse]]s 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. Horses do not normally eat fresh ragwort due to its bitter taste. It looses this taste when dried and can be come a danger in hay. 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. 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 {{Who|date=July 2007}} 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 effect of low doses is lessened by the destruction of the original alkaloids by the action of bacteria in the digestive tract before they reach the bloodstream. There is no known antidote or cure to poisoning, but at examples are known from the scientific literature of horses making a full recovery once consumption has been stopped. <ref>{{Citation | title = De Lanux-Van Gorder, V. 2000. Tansy ragwort poisoning in a horse in southern Ontario. Can. Vet. J. 41: 09-410. }}</ref><ref>{{Citation | title = Lessard, P., W. D. Wilson, H. J. Olander, Q. R. Rogers, & V. E. Mendel. 1986. Clinicopathologic study of horses surviving pyrrolizidine alkaloid (Senecio vulgaris) toxicosis. Am. J. Vet. Res. 47: 1776-1780. }}</ref>
Ragwort poses little risk to the livers of humans since, although it is theoretically poisonous to humans, it is distasteful and is not used as a food. The alkaloids can be absorbed in small quantities through the skin but studies have show that the absorption is much less than by ingestion and since they are in the N-oxide form which only becomes toxic after conversion inside the digestive tract they will be excreted harmlessly. Some sensitive individuals can suffer from an allergic reaction because ragwort like many members of the compositae family contains sesquiterpine lactones which can cause compositae dermatitis.
Honey collected over Ragwort has been found to contain small quantities of jacoline, jacobine, jacozine, senecionine, and seneciphylline, but the quantities have been judged as too minute to be of concern.<ref>{{Citation | last = [[Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food]] | title = Surveillance for pyrrolizidine alkaloids in honey | year = 1995 | publisher = UK Food Standards Agency | url = http://archive.food.gov.uk/maff/archive/food/infsheet/1995/no52/52honey.htm | accessdate = 2007-08-12 }}</ref>.
==Control legislation==
===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.<ref>{{Citation | last = [[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs]] | title = Weeds Act 1959 | url = http://www.defra.gov.uk/rds/weeds-act.htm | accessdate = 2007-08-12 }}</ref>
A [[Private Member's Bill|private member's bill]], the Ragwort Control Bill, was introduced by [[John Greenway]] and was passed by the [[British House of Commons|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.<ref>{{Citation | last = [[Office of Public Sector Information]] | title = Ragwort Control Act 2003 | url = http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/20030040.htm | accessdate = 2007-08-12 }}</ref>
==Medicine==
From [[medieval]] times to the mid 20th century, Ragwort was used against inflammations of the [[eye]], for sore and cancerous [[ulcer]]s, [[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]].{{Who|date=July 2007}}
==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, poetry and mythology==
[[Image:Ragwort flowers.jpg|thumb|''Ragwort thou humble flower'']]
The [[Greek theatre|Greek]] physician [[Dioscorides]] (c.40-90 CE) recommended the herb. The two "fathers" of herbalism, [[John Gerard|Gerard]] and [[Nicholas Culpeper|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 [[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 language|Manx]] for ''dear little [[Isle of Man]]'')
Donald Macalastair of Druim-a-ghinnir on the Isle of Arran told a story of the fairies journeying to Ireland. The ragwort was their transport and every one of them picked a plant, sat astride and arrived in Ireland in an instant.<ref name="Wentz">Wentz, W. Y. (1911). ''The Fairy-faith in Celtic Countries.'' Reprinted. Colin Smythe (1981). ISBN 0-901072-51-8. P. 87.</ref>
==Cultivation==
Ragwort is not cultivated. There are no varieties known.
==Trivia==
{{Trivia|date=June 2007}}
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)
==References==
{{reflist}}
<gallery>
Image:SenecioJacobaeaJacobaea.jpg|Flowering plant
Image:SenecioJacobea-with-caterpillar.jpg|Leaves eaten by caterpillar
Image:Illustration Senecio jacobaea.jpg|Detailed drawing
</gallery>
==See also==
* [[List of plants poisonous to equines]]
==External links==
*[http://www.farmnews.co.nz/news/2008/jan/996.shtml Plume moth working to control ragwort in NZ]
*[http://www.inchem.org/documents/ehc/ehc/ehc080.htm Environmental Health Criteria 80 Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids] World Health Organisation -- the full text of the report is available.
*[http://www.ragwort.jakobskruiskruid.com Ragwort myths and facts ]This website is the English version of a Dutch Ragwort website
*[http://www.Ragwortfacts.com Ragwort Facts.com ]Information on Ragwort in the UK from a scientific perspective
*[http://www.buglife.org.uk/conservation/currentprojects/ragwort/ Buglife's ragwort pages] Information on the importance of Ragwort to wildlife on the Buglife website
*[http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/212700.htm The Merck Veterinary Manual introduction to pyrrolizidine alkaloidosis]
*{{cite journal
| url = http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/full/89/6/929
| journal = American Journal of Botany
| year = 2002
| volume = 89
| pages = 929–939
| title = Tackling speciose genera: species composition and phylogenetic position of Senecio sect. Jacobaea (Asteraceae) based on plastid and nrDNA sequences
| last =Pieter B.
| first =Pelser
| authorlink =Pieter B. Pelser
| coauthors = Barbara Gravendeel and Ruud van der Meijden
| doi = 10.3732/ajb.89.6.929 }}
{{Commons|Senecio jacobaea}}
[[Category:Jacobaea|vulgaris]]
[[Category:Flowers]]
[[Category:Plants and pollinators]]
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