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Balsam Ragwort

Packera paupercula

83
Keystone

Native to Mississippi (estimated). 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 3 Mississippi counties.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

19CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS

Genus host records with ranges including MS · 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

Mississippi rankNot available
Global rankG5
MS statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources