Environmental
& Community Biology 1h
Invasive Aliens
Oxford ragwort (Senecio
squalidus)
Large clump of Oxford ragwort on disturbed ground; Roslin
Country Park, Midlothian.
Close-up of the flowers of Oxford ragwort (the pollen of
which is strongly allergenic)
Hand removal of Oxford ragwort from a field in the
Kintyre Peninsula, western Scotland. The plants in the
barrow were transferred to a tractor-trailer (picture
below)
Sand dune area with a large population of Oxford ragwort;
Kintyre Peninsula, Western Scotland. Most of the plants
to the dry dunes to the right of the trackway have been
severely damaged by cinnabar moth larvae, unlike the
plants on the wetter, left side of the trackway.
Cinnabar moth larvae feeding on Oxford ragwort leaves
Typical damage caused by cinnabar moth larvae
Common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) - a small
plant about 20 cm tall, which does not have conspicuous
petals (ray florets). This specimen is infected by a rust
fungus causing distortion of the stems and eruption of
pustules of yellow fungal spores, which is common in Senecio
species.
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