Water Groundsel, Senecio hydrophilus

About Water Groundsel (Senecio hydrophilus) 1 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Senecio hydrophilus is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names water ragwort and alkali-marsh ragwort. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in swampy places such as marshes. It can grow in standing water, including alkaline and salty water. It is a biennial or perennial herb producing a single erect stem or a cluster of a few stems which may exceed one meter in maximum height, at times approaching two meters. The stem is hollow, waxy in texture, and often pale green in color, and it emerges from a small caudex. The thick leaves are lance-shaped to oval with smooth or toothed edges, the blades up to 20 centimeters long and borne on petioles. Smaller leaves occur farther up the stem. The inflorescence is one or more large, spreading clusters of many flower heads. They contain many yellowish disc florets at the center and sometimes have small yellow ray florets as well.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Perennial herb

Size

3.3 - 7 ft tall

Flower Color

Yellow

Wildlife Supported

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 26 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Painted Lady Vanessa carduiVanessa cardui

Northern Checkerspot Chlosyne pallaChlosyne palla

American Lady Vanessa virginiensisVanessa virginiensis

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Alfalfa Looper Moth Autographa californicaAutographa californica

Salt Marsh Moth or Acrea Moth Estigmene acreaEstigmene acrea

Garden Tortrix Moth Clepsis peritanaClepsis peritana

Landscaping Information

Sun

Part Shade

Nurseries

Carried by 1

Soil Drainage

Standing

Natural Setting

Site Type

Swamps, muddy places, standing saltwater

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 4.0" - 85.5", Summer Precipitation: 0.17" - 3.80", Coldest Month: 11.1" - 57.6", Hottest Month: 34.4" - 86.9", Humidity: 0.46" - 38.60", Elevation: -253" - 14034"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Alkali-marsh Ragwort, Water Ragwort

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Water Groundsel

Senecio hydrophilus

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Water GroundselSenecio hydrophilus

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Water Groundsel

Senecio hydrophilus