Quercus

Golden Ragwort

Packera aurea

Native to Kentucky (estimated)

Poisonous leaves; skin irritation. Leaves can cause liver toxicity if eaten; contact can irritate skin. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

18CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including KY

Genus host records with ranges including KY · Senecio

  • Apantesis naisNais Tiger Moth
  • Calephelis borealisLittle Metalmark
  • Emmelina monodactylaMorning-Glory Plume Moth
  • Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
  • Hellinsia kellicottiiGoldenrod Borer Plume Moth
  • Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
  • Orthonama obstipataThe Gem
  • Palthis asopialisFaint-Spotted Palthis
  • Papaipema insulidensRagwort Stem Borer
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Show all 18
  • Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
  • Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
  • Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
  • Vanessa virginiensisAmerican Lady, American Painted Lady
  • Xestia c-nigrumSpotted Cut-Worm, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lesser Black-letter Dart
  • Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
  • 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)
Flies 6
  • Cistogaster occidua
  • Epigrimyia floridensis
  • Eristalis latifrons
  • Peleteria robusta
  • Sphaerophoria cylindrica
  • Zodion fulvifrons

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Other wasps 1
  • Leionotus clypeatus

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Hardiness
Zones 3–8
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
Yellow
Growth rate
Moderate
Growth habit
Spreads by rhizomes
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Summer
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Golden Ragwort; Senecio aureus; groundsel

Conservation status

Kentucky rankS4S5
Global rankG5
KY statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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Sources