Much maligned, yet poetically celebrated
Is there a plant more denigrated and maligned than Ragwort? In a 2013 article, the Daily Mail claimed that Ragwort has “infested the country”. In 2014, former Conservative minister Lord Tebbit told the nature charity Buglife that pulling up ragwort should be a low-cost form of National Service for “young people who are not in education, work or training and low-level criminals”. In Bredfield, one visitor has suggested that we pull up the Ragwort in the Jubilee Meadow and Orchard. A lot of people are getting worked up about Ragwort. Before we turn to examine these claims of the harmfulness of Ragwort, we should remind ourselves that others have seen the plant in a much more positive light. Here’s an extract from John Clare’s 1832 poem, The Ragwort:
Ragwort, thou humble flower with tattered leaves
I love to see thee come & litter gold,
What time the summer binds her russet sheaves;
Decking rude spots in beauties manifold,
That without thee were dreary to behold,
Sunburnt and bare– the meadow bank, the baulk
That leads a wagon-way through mellow fields,
Rich with the tints that harvest’s plenty yields,
Browns of all hues; and everywhere I walk
Thy waste of shining blossoms richly shields
The sun tanned sward in splendid hues that burn
So bright & glaring that the very light
Of the rich sunshine doth to paleness turn
& seems but very shadows in thy sight.
Female Swollen-thighed Beetle on Ragwort
Is Ragwort harmful?
Let’s start by being clear: Ragwort can be poisonous to horses and livestock; sometimes fatally so. However, the taste of the plant is usually off-putting and that is why it’s not unusual to see horses in fields chomping on grass but leaving the ragwort. Of course, if horses are left in fields with little else to graze but Ragwort, they may resort to eating the plant. Farmers and horse owners who practice good grazing management – and do not leave horses for long periods in fields with insufficient fodder and prevalent ragwort – have little to fear. The main danger comes if ragwort that has been cut and dried gets mixed up in dry hay fed to livestock. The sale of fodder containing common ragwort is illegal. The onus is on owners to ensure dry feed given to horses and cattle is clean and fit to eat, just as with anything else they feed their animals. Where horses are well cared for, and their feed carefully monitored, there is little risk of ragwort poisoning. Professor Andy Durham, of the Liphook Equine Hospital, recently stated that, in his experience of veterinary care, “there is no evidence that ragwort toxicity represents a large health hazard in UK horses”.
Ragwort could be poisonous to humans, but you’d have to eat vast quantities of a pretty horrible tasting plant. Are you really going to eat plate-loads of ragwort, any more than foxgloves or other poisonous plants that can be found in Britain’s fields and verges?
There is no law requiring that Ragwort must be removed wherever it’s found. Indeed, pulling up ragwort without the landowner’s permission is a crime under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
The positive ecological role of Ragwort.
Perhaps it’s time for us to adopt a more balanced understanding of this native wild flower. Ragwort, like many plants considered ‘weeds’, has a critical role in supporting our natural biodiversity. In an era when Britain’s flora and fauna are in desparate decline, we should be doing more to appreciate and protect all our native wildflowers.
Cinnabar Moth caterpillar on Ragwort
Common ragwort is the home and food source to over 75 insect species in the UK. Over half of these use ragwort as their exclusive food source. There are ten rare or threatened species for which ragwort is the exclusive food source. These include Picture-winged Fly (Campiglossa malaris), Scarce Clouded Knot-horn micro moth (Homocosoma nimbella), and Sussex Emerald moth (Thalera fimbrialis). Most famous of all is the Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobaeae). You can find both caterpillar and adult Cinnabar moth in Bredfield Jubilee Meadow and Orchard. In and around village green areas, such as our meadow and orchard – where no grazing takes place – we can welcome the presence of Ragwort.
The attractive Cinnabar Moth
All photographs taken at Bredfield Jubilee Meadow and Orchard
