Golden Ragwort

Packera aurea

Native to South Carolina (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.

Packera aurea — whole photograph — Patty Felder · CC0 · Original photograph · Original NCSU photograph bytes; no crop, retouching, or re-encoding.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

19CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including SC

Genus host records with ranges including SC · 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
Papaipema insulidensRagwort Stem Borer

Show all 19

Ponometia exiguaBicolored Bird-Dropping Moth
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

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

Bloom · “May to June” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
Flower color · “Yellow” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Hardiness · “Zones 3–8” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
Height · “About 2 feet in flower” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
Leaves · “Evergreen” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Light · “Full sun (6+ hours); Part shade (3–6 hours); Shade (under 3 hours)” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
Soil · “Wet; Wet-mesic; Mesic” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
Soil pH · “Acidic” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Spread · “6 inches–1.5 feet” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder

Also known as

Golden Ragwort; Senecio aureus; groundsel

Conservation status

South Carolina rank	Not available
Global rank	G5
SC status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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