Why It Has Not Been Removed

WHY IT HAS NOT BEEN REMOVED

If you happen to see the School Wildlife Patch you will see plenty of Ragwort growing in the grass. Some might throw up their hands in horror and ask why it has not been removed.

Probably more than any other plant it has been demonised but why is this? The first claim is that it is poisonous to livestock, particularly horses. But cattle have been grazing fields with Ragwort since time immemorial as Ragwort is not a new plant to the UK. It is unpleasant to eat so animals will avoid it along with Foxgloves, even Buttercups. True it can be dangerous if included in a hay crop as it is harder to detect, hence advice that farmers should remove it in these circumstances but otherwise it should create few problems. Some believe it is poisonous to humans but, again, you would have to eat a lot of it to incur any symptoms, and you would have to be pretty desperate to consume it in the first place.

But it also has a huge benefit for wildlife as many who have seen them covered in Cinnabar Moth caterpillars can confirm. Interestingly, the caterpillar is poisonous but gets poison by eating the Ragwort. It supports over 200 species of invertebrates providing a nectar source in late summer for bees, butterflies and hoverflies when other sources may become limited. So if you have a wildlife patch consider tolerating the odd Ragwort.