Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Senecio sylvaticus

Senecio erucifolius

heath groundsel, wood groundsel, woodland groundsel, woodland ragwort

hoary ragwort
Habit Annuals, (15–)30–80+ cm (taproots fibrous-rooted). Perennials, 30–120 cm (rhizomes branched, sometimes producing stolons).
Herbage

puberulent (hairs abundant, curly).

floccose-tomentose, unevenly glabrescent (persistently hairy on abaxial leaf faces).
Stems

single.

usually single, sometimes loosely clustered.
Leaves

evenly distributed;

petiolate;

blades obovate to oblong, 3–7(–12) × 1–3(–4) cm, usually 1–2-pinnate, bases tapered, ultimate margins dentate (distal leaves similar, clasping, bractlike).

± evenly distributed (basal and proximal sometimes withering before flowering);

petiolate (proximal) or sessile;

blades ovoid or oblong to spatulate (usually pinnatifid to pinnatisect, lobes ± lanceolate to linear), (3–)5–12 × (1.5–)2–4 cm, bases tapered to ± truncate, ultimate margins (often revolute) dentate or entire.
Ray florets

0 or 1–8+;

corolla laminae usually 1–2+ mm (barely surpassing phyllaries).

± 13;

corolla laminae 12–15 mm.
Phyllaries

± 13 (± 21), 4–7+ mm, tips greenish or minutely black.

± 13, 5–7 mm, tips green or greenish.
Calyculi

0 or of 1–5+ linear to filiform bractlets.

of 4–6(–10) bractlets (lengths to 1/2 phyllaries).
Heads

12–24 in corymbiform arrays.

20–60 in corymbiform arrays.
Cypselae

hairy (especially on angles).

hairy.
2n

= 40.

Senecio sylvaticus

Senecio erucifolius
Phenology Flowering late spring–summer (northern areas of cool, climate); winter (southern areas). Flowering summer.
Habitat Mildly disturbed woodlands, open, sandy sites Waste grounds
Elevation 100–300 m [300–1000 ft] 0–200+ m [0–700+ ft]
Distribution
from FNA
CA; LA; MA; MI; NJ; OH; OR; PA; WA; WI; BC; NB; NF; NS; PE; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
PA; Old World [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Senecio sylvaticus is a Eurasian weed that favors cool, wet climates. It is well established in coastal areas of the Pacific Coast and in parts of Newfoundland and Quebec; elsewhere in the flora, it appears to be sporadic.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Senecio erucifolius has been introduced occasionally around seaports and has persisted. At present, it appears to be uncommon and highly localized; it should be expected almost any place that its close relative, Senecio jacobaea, occurs.

Senecio erucifolius was treated in Jacobaea by E. Wiebe (2000); see discussion under 53. S. jacobaea.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 20, p. 563. Treatment author: Theodore M. Barkley†. FNA vol. 20, p. 569. Treatment author: Theodore M. Barkley†.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Senecioneae > Senecio Asteraceae > tribe Senecioneae > Senecio
Sibling taxa
S. actinella, S. amplectens, S. ampullaceus, S. aphanactis, S. arizonicus, S. aronicoides, S. astephanus, S. atratus, S. bigelovii, S. blochmaniae, S. californicus, S. cannabifolius, S. clarkianus, S. crassulus, S. elegans, S. elmeri, S. eremophilus, S. ertterae, S. erucifolius, S. flaccidus, S. fremontii, S. hydrophiloides, S. hydrophilus, S. integerrimus, S. jacobaea, S. lemmonii, S. lugens, S. lyonii, S. megacephalus, S. mohavensis, S. multidentatus, S. neowebsteri, S. parryi, S. pattersonensis, S. pseudoarnica, S. pudicus, S. quaylei, S. rapifolius, S. riddellii, S. sacramentanus, S. scorzonella, S. serra, S. sheldonensis, S. soldanella, S. spartioides, S. sphaerocephalus, S. spribillei, S. squalidus, S. taraxacoides, S. triangularis, S. viscosus, S. vulgaris, S. warnockii, S. wootonii
S. actinella, S. amplectens, S. ampullaceus, S. aphanactis, S. arizonicus, S. aronicoides, S. astephanus, S. atratus, S. bigelovii, S. blochmaniae, S. californicus, S. cannabifolius, S. clarkianus, S. crassulus, S. elegans, S. elmeri, S. eremophilus, S. ertterae, S. flaccidus, S. fremontii, S. hydrophiloides, S. hydrophilus, S. integerrimus, S. jacobaea, S. lemmonii, S. lugens, S. lyonii, S. megacephalus, S. mohavensis, S. multidentatus, S. neowebsteri, S. parryi, S. pattersonensis, S. pseudoarnica, S. pudicus, S. quaylei, S. rapifolius, S. riddellii, S. sacramentanus, S. scorzonella, S. serra, S. sheldonensis, S. soldanella, S. spartioides, S. sphaerocephalus, S. spribillei, S. squalidus, S. sylvaticus, S. taraxacoides, S. triangularis, S. viscosus, S. vulgaris, S. warnockii, S. wootonii
Synonyms Jacobaea erucifolia
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 868. (1753) Linnaeus: Fl. Suec. ed. 2, 291. (1755)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Boraginaceae and Polemoniaceae.)

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers