Some more Yellow Flower/Plants

[jdoherty]

The first yellow flower was taken in Northern Ireland in June 2008. The second was taken at Far Ings Nature Reserve in June 2006 and the last two pics were taken in July 2008 at WHisby Nature Reserve near Lincoln. IDs please.

Thanks, John.

[aeshna5]

1 Nipplewort
2 Common Ragwort
3 Yellow-wort
4 is a bird's-foot trefoil; I think Greater

[leifus]

1 nipplewort
2 common or oxford ragwort, probably the former
3 yellow-wort
4 Greater birdsfoot trefoil (:

[Pippa]

Beat me to it on number 2.

Ragwort a dreaded and dangerous weed which is so poisonous to horses.

Some may even see the yellow flowers as pretty, little realising that it is one of the most lethal plants in the countryside. It is even poisonous to humans but more particularly it kills horses and cattle. Under most circumstances they don't eat it when it is growing because of its bitter taste. But when it dies off because of cutting or spraying it becomes palatable to equines and bovines and causes irreparable damage to their liver. There is no known cure.

Not a nice plant.

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by Pippa

Beat me to it on number 2.

Ragwort a dreaded and dangerous weed which is so poisonous to horses.

Some may even see the yellow flowers as pretty, little realising that it is one of the most lethal plants in the countryside. It is even poisonous to humans but more particularly it kills horses and cattle. Under most circumstances they don't eat it when it is growing because of its bitter taste. But when it dies off because of cutting or spraying it becomes palatable to equines and bovines and causes irreparable damage to their liver. There is no known cure.

Not a nice plant.

There have many threads on this, but it's also an important native plant that supports many invertebrates, some of which such as the Cinnabar Moth need it for their development.

[jdoherty]

Thanks everyone for your invaluable knowledge and assistance with these IDs. I must agree that ragwort is a great place for finding and photographing cinnabar moth caterpillars. Both moth and plant are very common in N.Ireland and generally speaking in places where horses are unlikely to be kept. We're great lovers of horses and horse racing in N.Ireland and I'm sure that most fields/paddocks in which horses are kept are free of these plants. I do agree, however, that they are a danger to horses.

John

[leifus]

cows and horses are clever though - we used to have a field full of cattle and ragwort and they never touched any of it!

[Pippa]

Originally Posted by aeshna5

There have many threads on this, but it's also an important native plant that supports many invertebrates, some of which such as the Cinnabar Moth need it for their development.

There is an abundance of it on the roadside in this area anyway but it was a huge problem in the small village, i have just moved from .There were many horses there and more than enough ragwort.It isn't a weak weed/wild flower either.There are also rules and regulations in getting rid of it in this area.As secretary of the residents association back home i had to write a lot of letters regarding this plant and the council took them very seriously.Have to say there is no shortage of the plant either so wild-life should not be affected.

[leifus]

i think the cattle and horses can sense/smell its poisonous.......

[Pippa]

Originally Posted by leifus

i think the cattle and horses can sense/smell its poisonous.......

They don't touch it Leifus,until it dies off,then it becomes a fab meal.I don't know regarding cattle although i have read about them but i do know horses love it.Anyway, back home they just ensured it was kept out of their fields.We have a lot of horses here too and their fields are clear too but there is still plenty of ragwort about outside of that.