Daisy Family:-

"The largest family of flowering plants, distinguished by having its tiny individual flowers all packed closely into a compound head, which often looks like a single large flower, surrounded by apparent sepals, which are actually bracts. The tiny flowers are unstalked, with the ovary below the 5 petals, which are joined into a corolla and are of 2 types:

(1) with a symetrical tubular corolla (disk-florets), and

(2) with an asymetrical strap-shaped corolla (ray-florets).

The compound flower-heads are consequently of 3 types:

(a) 'unrayed'. with usually blue or purple disk-florets only, like the Thistles;

(b) 'rayed', with yellow disk-florets in the centre and white or yellow ray-florets round the edge, like the Daisy; and

(c) those with ray-florets only, like the Dandelion.

Each tiny flower has 5 stamens joined into a tube, and a 2-lobed stigma. The place of their true sepals is often taken ither by chaffy scales on top of the ovary ,or by undivided or feathered hairs (the paapus), which, when enlarged as thistle-down or dandelion-clocks float away in the wind, bearing suspended from the parachue the fruit, a small narrow nut. " from Collins Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers by David McClintock and R.S.R. Fitter assisted by Francis Rose - ISBN 0 00 219363 9 - Eleventh Impression 1978

Daisy Family plant table with its Common Name - Botanical Name. Flowering Months Range. Habitat with link to that Wild Flower Habitat Gallery:-

Common Name

Botanical Name

Flowering Months

Habitat

Beggar-Ticks (Devil's Beggar-ticks)

Bidens frondosa

July onwards

This annual is found by rivers and canals, on damp and waste ground, and on tips in urban areas and ports. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers from Robert H. Mohlenbrock @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA SCS. 1989. Midwest wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. Midwest National Technical Center, Lincoln.

Foliage from Robert H. Mohlenbrock @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA SCS. 1989. Midwest wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. Midwest National Technical Center, Lincoln.

Form from William S. Justice @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

Butterbur (Pestilence Wort)

Petasites hybridus

March-May, before the leaves

A dioecious rhizomatous perennial herb of moist, fertile, often alluvial, soils by watercourses, in wet meadows, marshes, flood plains and copses, and on roadsides. It spreads mostly vegetatively from rhizome fragments. Female plants are frequent only in N. and C. England. Male-only colonies are probably single clones, many perhaps from deliberate plantings for a source of pollen and nectar for hive bees (Stevens, 1990). 0-380 m (near Garrigill, Cumberland).

Female Flowers from Leek in Staffordshire on 18 May

Male Flower from Darenth on 5 March

Foliage from Berkshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Form from Berkshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Coltsfoot (Son-before-father)

Tussilago farfara

February-April, well before the leaves

A rhizomatous perennial herb, occurring, often as a pioneer, in a wide range of moist or dry, often disturbed habitats, which include sand dunes and shingle, slumping cliff-slopes, landslides, spoil heaps, seepage areas, rough grassland, crumbling river banks, waste places and roadside verges. It can also be a troublesome arable weed. 0-1065 m in the Breadalbanes (Mid Perth).

Flower

Seed Heads from Borough Green in April

Foliage

Form from Borough Green on 31 March

Common Fleabane (Meadow False Fleabane)

Pulicaria dysenterica

July-September

A perennial, rhizomatous herb of damp or wet, open habitats including marshy places, water- and fen-meadows, tall-herb fens, by rivers, streams, canals and ditches, in dune-slacks, wet hollows and seepages on sea-cliffs, damp woodland rides and roadside verges. It is found on a wide range of acidic and base-rich soil types. 0-325 m (Llyn Brianne, Cards.).

Flower from Berkshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Flowers from Berkshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Foliage from Berkshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Form from Berkshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Common Ragwort (St. James' wort)

Senecio jacobaea

June onwards

A biennial or perennial herb, widespread in grassland and especially abundant in neglected, rabbit-infested or overgrazed pastures; it also grows on sand dunes, in scrub, open woods and along woodland rides, waste ground, road verges and waysides, and on rocks, screes and walls. 0-670 m (Atholl, E. Perth, and on Mangerton, S. Kerry).

Flower from Stratford in London. Photo by BritishFlora

Flowers from Berkshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Foliage from Berkshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Form from Berkshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Creamy Butterbur (Japanese Sweet Coltsfoot)

Petasites japonicus

(Nardosmia japonica)

March-April, before the leaves.

Introduced from Japan and naturalised in a few moist spots in England, Wales and Southern Scotland

Flower from Groombridge on 5 May

Flowers from Groombridge on 5 May

Foliage from Groombridge on 5 May

Form from Groombridge on 5 May

Elecampane (Elecampane inula)

Inula helenium

July-August

A rather robust, conspicuous and persistent perennial herb, widely if sparsely established from garden outcasts on road- and lane-sides and by woodland margins, but seldom far from habitation. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Field Fleawort

Senecio integrifolius

(Senecio campestris, Senecio capitatus, Tephroseris integrifolia)

May-June

A biennial or perennial herb, growing on shallow soils on chalk and, rarely, on oolitic limestone. It occurs in short grassland on downland, ancient earthworks and tracks, favouring warm, dry, S.-facing sites. Lowland, but formerly at 550 m above Brough (Westmorland).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Gallant Soldier (Small-flower Galinsoga)

Galinsoga parviflora

June onwards

An annual weed of light soils in cultivated fields, nursery plots, garden centres and gardens, and in waste ground in urban areas. Lowland.

Flower from Rochester in Kent

Flowers from Rochester

Foliage from Rochester

Form from Rochester

Golden Samphire

Inula crithmoides

(Crithmum maritimum)

July-August

A perennial herb of two distinct types of habitat. On sea-cliffs it grows on ledges, in crevices and in open turf on calcareous or base-rich rocks, where it is often rooted in soil enriched with calcareous shell sand. In S.E. England it also occurs in saltmarshes, growing in low-marsh sites on coarse sand and above this on moderately organic soils, frequently where drift-litter accumulates. Lowland.

Flower from Kent. Photo by BritishFlora

Flowers from Kent. Photo by BritishFlora

Foliage from Kent. Photo by BritishFlora

Form from Kent. Photo by BritishFlora

Groundsel

(Old-man-in-the-Spring)

Senecio vulgaris

Thoughout the year

An annual of open and disturbed ground, occurring in semi-natural habitats on sand dunes and coastal cliffs, and as a weed in waste places, gardens, arable fields and other open habitats. 0-550 m (Moor House, Westmorland).

Flower

Seedhead

Foliage

Form

Heath Groundsel (Mountain Groundsel, Woodland Ragwort)

Senecio sylvaticus

July onwards

An annual of open habitats on heaths, in cleared and burnt woodland, on bushy commons, banks and sea-cliffs, usually growing on sandy, non-calcareous soils. 0-365 m (Rinns of Kells, Kirkcudbrights.).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Hoary Ragwort (Hoary Groundsel)

Senecio erucifolius

July onwards, at its best when most Common Ragwort is over

A perennial herb of grassland and disturbed habitats, including hay meadows and pastures, chalk and limestone downland, field-borders, railway banks, roadsides, waste places, shingle banks and fixed sand dunes; it is usually found on neutral or calcareous soils, especially clays that are wet in winter but baked dry in summer. Lowland.

Flower from New Forest on 11 August

Flowers

Foliage from New Forest on 11 August

Form from Isle of Grain in Kent

Irish Fleabane (Willowleaf Yellowhead)

Inula salicina

July-August

This perennial herb is known only from the northern half of Lough Derg, where it has been recorded along the limestone shoreline and on the islands, occupying an intermediate, stony habitat between the flood level and the surrounding scrub. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Leopardsbane (Great False Leopardbane)

Doronicum pardalianches

May-June

A rhizomatous perennial herb, well-naturalised in woods, plantations, and on roadsides and other shaded places. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Magellan Ragwort

Senecio smithii

July-August

A tall perennial herb found naturalised as a garden escape or relic of cultivation in grassy meadows and pastures, on roadsides, by lakes and streams and in ditches. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form at Dunnet Bay Beach. ND2170 Copyright Ken Walton. This work licensed under the Creative Commons Atribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic Licence.

Marsh Ragwort (Eastern Marsh Ragwort)

Senecio aquaticus

June onwards

A biennial, sometimes perennial, herb occurring in marshes, wet meadows, rush-pastures, and by streams, ponds and ditches. Generally lowland, but reaching 460 m in Weardale (Co. Durham) and in Co. Wicklow.

Flower from New Forest on 11 August

Flowers from New Forest on 11 August

Foliage from New Forest

Form from New Forest

Nodding Bur-Marigold

Bidens cernua

July onwards

An annual, growing on a wide range of damp or wet substrates on the margins of slow-flowing rivers and streams, by ponds and meres, often in places subject to winter flooding; also in ditches and marshes. 0-310 m (Heathcote, Derbys.).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form from Leybourne in Kent on 18 September

Oxford Ragwort

Senecio squalidus

April onwards

A short-lived perennial herb of waste places, walls, railways, cinders, roadsides and gardens, where it is often thoroughly established on well-drained soils. Lowland.

Flower from Strood in Kent

Flowers from Strood

Foliage

Form from on top of a wall in Higham in Kent

Ploughman's Spikenard

Inula conyza

July onwards

A biennial or perennial herb of dry sites, mainly on chalk or limestone, less frequently on sands and gravels, typically in places where the vegetation cover is broken or in areas of open soil or stony ground. It occurs in dry grassland, on banks, woodland margins, rides and scrub, in quarries and pits, screes (but rarely on cliffs), on the more vegetated parts of sand dunes, on roadsides and rough ground. Most sites have a southerly aspect and are unshaded. 0-305 m (Kingsdale, Mid-W. Yorks.).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Saracen's Woundwort (Broad-leaved Ragwort)

Senecio fluviatilis (Senecio saracenicus)

August-September

A tall perennial herb, naturalised by streams and rivers, and in fens, fen-woodland, swamps and marshy grassland. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Shaggy Soldier (Hairy Galinsoga, Fringed Quickweed)

Galinsoga ciliata (Galinsoga aristulata, Galinsoga bicolorata, Galinsoga caracasana, Galinsoga quadriradiata)

June onwards

An annual of arable fields, waste ground, roadsides and rubbish tips, derelict urban sites and cracks in pavements, most often occurring in the larger conurbations. Lowland.

Flower from Polhill on 26 July

Flowers from Polhill on 26 July

Foliage from Polhill on 26 July

Form from Polhill on 26 July

Silver Ragwort (Sea Ragwort, Silver cineraria)

Senecio cineraria (Cineraria maritima)

June-August

An evergreen shrub, sometimes well-established and abundant on cliffs and rough ground near the sea and occurring as a casual inland on rubbish tips, roadside verges and waste ground. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Small Fleabane

Pulicaria vulgaris

August-September

An annual of damp, winter-flooded hollows in somewhat acidic, unimproved grassland on New Forest `lawns`, on commons and village greens, and on rutted tracks. Extant sites are usually pony-grazed, this disturbance creating the open conditions needed for seedling survival. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Spiny Cocklebur (Bathurst burr, cocklebur, spiny cockleburr)

Xanthium spinosum

September onwards

An annual occurring on waste ground, rubbish tips, in sewage works and railway sidings. It is usually casual, sometimes persisting for a few years. It generally arises from wool shoddy or bird-seed. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form from Gary A. Monroe @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

Sticky Groundsel (Stinking Groundsel)

Senecio viscosus

July onwards

An annual of free-draining disturbed substrates including sands, gravels and cinders, found on roadsides, banks, wall-tops, pavements, railway ballast, coastal shingle and dunes, in gravel-pits, and on open rough and waste ground. 0-430 m (Nenthead, Cumberland).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage from Isle of Grain in Kent

Form

Trifid Bur-Marigold (Cuckold's Beggar-ticks)

Bidens tripartita

July onwards

An annual of nutrient-rich mud or gravel by ponds, occurring in wet pits, by slow rivers and streams, often in areas wet in winter but exposed in summer; also found in ditches, peat workings and other damp places. It prefers less acidic and drier substrates than B. cernua. Generally lowland, but reaching 365 m at Pilleth (Rads.).

Flower from Robert H. Mohlenbrock @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. 1995. Northeast wetland flora: Field office guide to plant species. Northeast National Technical Center, Chester.

Flowers from Robert H. Mohlenbrock @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. 1995. Northeast wetland flora: Field office guide to plant species. Northeast National Technical Center, Chester.

Foliage from Robert H. Mohlenbrock @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. 1995. Northeast wetland flora: Field office guide to plant species. Northeast National Technical Center, Chester.

Form from London. Photo by BritishFlora

White Butterbur

Petasites albus

March-April, before the leaves

A dioecious rhizomatous perennial herb found established in woods and waste places, on waysides and shady riversides, occasionally forming large stands. The male plant is much more common than the female in our area. Lowland.

Flower on Road Verge in Kent in March

Flowers on Road Verge in Kent in March

Foliage from Triesenburg in Liechenstein

Form on Road Verge in Kent in March

Winter Heliotrope (Scented coltsfoot)

Petasites fragrans

November-March

This dioecious rhizomatous perennial herb is naturalised on streamsides, banks, rough ground and roadsides, where it sometimes forms large, very persistent stands. Lowland.

Flower from Isle of Wight. Photo by BritishFlora

Flowers from Isle of Wight. Photo by BritishFlora

Foliage from Isle of Wight. Photo by BritishFlora

Form from Ightham in Kent in February

List of Senecio species.

A young ventriloquist is touring the clubs and one night he's doing a show in a small town in Yorkshire.

With his dummy on his knee, he starts going through his usual dumb blonde jokes when a blonde woman in the 4th row stands on her chair.

She starts shouting:

"I've heard enough of your stupid blonde jokes. What makes you think you can stereotype women that way? What does the colour of a person's hair have to do with her worth as a human being? It's guys like you who keep women like me from being respected at work and in the community and from reaching our full potential as a person. Because you and your kind continue to perpetuate discrimination against not only blondes, but women in general.... and all in the name of humour!"

The embarrassed ventriloquist begins to apologise, and the blonde yells,

"You stay out of this, mister! I'm talking to that little shit sitting on your knee!"