# woolly ragwort (*Packera dubia*)

Woolly ragwort is a fuzzy plant with bright yellow flowers that bloom in the spring. It grows in fields and along roadsides, making the world a little brighter!

- **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low
- **Habitat:** Grasslands

![woolly ragwort](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Packera_tomentosa.jpg&width=800)

Photo: Mason Brock ( Masebrock ), Public domain · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Packera_tomentosa.jpg)

## Appearance

The woolly ragwort has striking bright yellow, daisy-like flowers clustered at the top of its stems. Its leaves are distinctively covered in soft, silvery-white hairs, giving them a fuzzy, 'woolly' appearance that helps it stand out.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Plantae
- **Phylum:** Tracheophyta
- **Class:** Magnoliopsida
- **Order:** Asterales
- **Family:** Asteraceae
- **Genus:** Packera

## Interesting facts

- Each plant can make thousands of seeds, ensuring lots of new ragwort plants can grow!
- Its bright yellow flowers look like mini sunflowers, but they are much smaller!
- Some tiny caterpillars can eat this plant and use its bad-tasting chemicals for their own defense!
- Woolly ragwort can grow in tough places like roadsides, showing how super resilient it is!

## Special abilities

- **Toxic Guard:** Woolly ragwort creates special chemicals that make it taste bad to most animals, helping it defend against hungry creatures.
- **Wind Rider:** Woolly ragwort's tiny seeds have fluffy parachutes, letting them ride the wind to new places far away to reproduce.

## Measurements & details

- **Height:** 30-90 cm
- **Flower Size:** 1-2 cm
- **Bloom Season:** Late spring to late summer
- **Edible:** No
- **Toxicity:** Moderate
- **Lifecycle:** Perennial
- **Pollination Method:** Insect

## Ecological connections

- **Pollinates:** Honey Bee (*Apis mellifera*) — Visits flowers for nectar.
- **Pollinates:** [Black-tailed Bumble Bee](https://www.snappit.app/explore/black-tailed-bumble-bee) (*Bombus melanopygus*) — Collects pollen and nectar.
- **Eats:** Ragwort Plume Moth (*Platyptilia pica*) — Its larvae feed on leaves.

## Traits

- [Furry](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/furry): Furry describes animals possessing a dense covering of soft hair or fur.
- [Flowering](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/flowering): Flowering plants are any plants that produce flowers as part of their reproductive cycle.
- [Spring Blooming](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/spring-blooming): Spring blooming plants produce their flowers during the spring season, often signifying the end of winter and the start of new growth.
- [Grassland](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/grassland): Grassland habitats are terrestrial biomes dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants, supporting a variety of grazing animals.
- [Pollinator Magnet](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/pollinator-magnet): Describes plants that are particularly attractive and beneficial to a wide range of pollinating organisms.
- [Pollinator](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/pollinator): Describes organisms that transfer pollen, enabling the fertilization and reproduction of plants.

## Collections

- [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/plants)

## Safety

**Danger:** 1/5 · Very low

Do not eat any plants without asking an adult first, as some can be harmful.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify woolly ragwort?

Start with the whole plant, then compare leaf arrangement, leaf edges, stems and any flowers or fruit. Opposite leaves grow in pairs; alternate leaves come one at a time along the stem. These details tell you far more together than a single green leaf does. Plant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How tall is woolly ragwort?

30-90 cm

### How big are the flowers on woolly ragwort?

1-2 cm

### When does woolly ragwort bloom?

Late spring to late summer

### Is woolly ragwort edible?

No

### Is woolly ragwort toxic?

Moderate

### What is woolly ragwort's lifecycle?

Perennial

### How is woolly ragwort pollinated?

Insect

## Where to spot

- [Stone Mountain Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/stone-mountain-park) — Georgia, US · Natural Landmark

## More Plants

- [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*)
- [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*)
- [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*)
- [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*)

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Source: [Woolly Ragwort: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/woolly-ragwort)