Packera aurea (Golden Ragwort)

Packera aurea, called golden ragwort or golden groundsel, is commonly found in wet woods, moist meadows, along streambanks, and sometimes in swampy areas. It prefers moist to wet soil, but can tolerate average moisture so long as it has shade or at least some protection from harsh afternoon sun. We find it does well in shade gardens or areas with dappled light.

Golden ragwort sports fan-like glossy leaves, and its stout purple-colored rhizomes creep horizontally to form a colony and by reseeding, becoming an evergreen groundcover with time, helping to deter weeds.

Flowers are golden-yellow, daisy-like and showy, on 1-3 foot tall stalks. Golden ragwort blooms early in the season as an important source of nectar and pollen for small bees, including little carpenter bees, cuckoo bees, and Halictid bees. Of note, Packera species support the pollen specialist bee, Andrena gardineri, which can only feed on a very select few flowers to survive and reproduce.

The foliage of ragwort is toxic, so it is rarely munched by most mammalian herbivores.