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Balsam Ragwort

Packera paupercula

83
Keystone

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 82%

Height
Up to about 2 feet
Light
Part shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom

Bloom: NC species account not read yet.

Spread and leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 16 Alabama counties.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

19CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Senecio

  • Apantesis naisNais Tiger Moth
  • Autoplusia egenaBean-Leaf Skeletonizer Moth
  • Emmelina monodactylaMorning-Glory Plume Moth
  • Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
  • Hellinsia kellicottiiGoldenrod Borer Plume Moth
  • Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
  • Lioptilodes albistriolatusMousy Plume Moth
  • Orthonama obstipataThe Gem
  • Palthis asopialisFaint-Spotted Palthis
  • Ponometia exiguaBicolored Bird-Dropping Moth
Show all 19
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
  • Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
  • Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
  • Vanessa virginiensisAmerican Lady, American Painted Lady
  • Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
  • Adaina bipunctatus
  • Hellinsia lacteodactylus
  • Phyllocnistis insignis
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
75BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Packera

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
4Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Senecio

  • Andrena gardineri
  • Andrena senticulosa
  • Osmia coloradensis
  • Perdita octomaculata
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
4BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Senecio

  • Haemorhous mexicanusHouse Finch
  • Spinus psaltriaLesser Goldfinch
  • Spinus tristisAmerican Goldfinch
  • Tympanuchus pallidicinctusLesser Prairie-Chicken
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Flower color
Yellow

What its natural habitat tells you

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Appalachian Groundsel; Appalachian Rag Wort; Appalachian Ragwort; Balsam Groundsel; groundsel

Conservation status

Alabama rankNot available
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources