Ragwort, Marsh

Information on Marsh Ragwort

Common Name: Marsh Ragwort
Scientific Name: Jacobaea aquatica
Irish Name: Buachalán corraigh
Family Group: Asteraceae
Distribution: View Map (Courtesy of the BSBI)
Flowering Period


Click for list of all flowering by month
Marsh Ragwort could sometimes be confused with:

Ragwort, Oxford, Ragwort, Narrow-leaved,

Very much a plant of damp, boggy places and ditches through July and August, this is somewhat similar to our Common Ragwort except it has far fewer flowers in its clusters, they are quite open clusters and each yellow flower is larger than Common Ragwort, being 2-3cm across.  The petals are longer and they have wider spaces between them.  The leaves also differ being more pinnatifid and having a larger end lobe.  Formerly known as Senecio aquaticus, this is a native plant and belongs to the family Asteraceae. 

I first identified this plant in Trooperstown, Co Wicklow in 1976 and photographed it by the River Caher in the Burren, Co Clare in 2009.

If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre

This plant is also known as Ragweed.  Many butterflies and moths need this plant for the survival of their larvae. 

Ragwort, Marsh
Ragwort, Marsh
Ragwort, Marsh
Ragwort, Marsh