Packera obovata – Roundleaf Groundsel

Groundsels or ragworts are somewhat course plants but add a touch of sunshine to the spring garden and make effective groundcovers even to some extent in dry shade. In Roundleaf Groundsel, the flat-topped clusters of bright yellow flowers rise above rosettes of attractive egg-shaped foliage. It’s an inhabitant of moist to dry, often calcareous woodlands in the Catskills and was formerly named Senecio obovatus. It’s native to most of eastern New York, including Ulster County. The flowers are attractive to a number of native bees which feed on both pollen and nectar. The foliage is toxic and is generally shunned by deer and rabbits. Roundleaf Groundsel can look a little bedraggled as it goes to seed and can benefit from a shearing back to its basal foliage.