Senecio vulgaris, Groundsel

Common Name: Groundsel

Senecio vulgaris, more commonly known as Groundsel, is a humble in appearance member of the Asteraceae family and Senecio genus, and a tenacious deciduous annual plant. Standing only between 10-41cm tall, bright florets mostly hidden by the characteristic bract giving it the appearance of never opening flowers and with a life span of 5–6 weeks, the self-fertilizing Groundsel lives humbly among and occasionally under the other weeds and is easy not to notice.

Has open clusters of 8 to 10 small cylinder shaped rayless yellow flower heads (6-13mm in length) with a highly conspicuous ring of black tipped bracts at the base of the inflorescence similar to many members of the genus Senecio. The name for the genus Senecio is probably derived from Senex (an old man), in reference to its downy head of seeds.

https://www.uknature.co.uk is a website dedicated to showing the immense diversity of UK nature and wildlife. Our vast range of habitats, from lowland arable to snow covered mountains, from storm-ravaged coastlines to peaceful inland freshwater lakes and rivers, from dry, sandy heaths to deciduous and coniferous forests, all these habitats contribute to the abundance of UK nature. We have wild birds in huge numbers either residing or visiting our shores (597 recorded species as at July 2013) and we must also not forget the humble back garden with its grass lawns, flower beds filled with nectar rich flowers, shrubs and trees, all designed to attract huge numbers of insects such as bees, moths, butterflies and hoverflies; and finally the small ponds which provide safe havens for frogs, toads, newts and even slow worms and grass snakes. www.uknature.co.uk is the showcase for my personal passion, photographing uknature in all its glory. I sincerely hope you all enjoy the fruits of my labours.