Yellow ragwort (Taranaki RPMP Species )

Yellow ragwort

Jacobaea vulgaris

Ragwort has characteristic bright yellow flowers, visible from a great distance in summer,
Biennial or perennial with a fibrous root system,
Forms a dense rosette of dark green, deeply dissected leaves, each with a large blunt terminal lobe, in its first year,
Second year produces a flower stem up to 1.2 m high,
A compact flat-topped inflorescence composed of about 12 composite flowers, each about 2cm across, appears between November and April,
Leaves on the flower stem are also deeply dissected and have no stalks, instead clasping the main stem. They do not have a large terminal lobe,
Plants have an unpleasant smell when crushed.