golden groundsel Interesting Notes

Golden ragwort is an easily grown garden plant with large clusters of yellow flowers that brighten shady areas of the spring garden. The large clusters of ¾” daisy-like flowers grow on stems 1-3’ above basal leaves. The foliage forms an effective groundcover in shady, moist to dry woodlands. The plants spread readily by seed and underground roots, forming large colonies. Golden ragwort can grow in the woodland garden or a shady perennial border among Eurybia divaricata, Polystichum acrostichoides, Dryopteris marginalis, Amsonia tabernaemontana and Phacelia bipinnatifida. - Mt. Cuba Center

The huge genus Senecio, a member of the daisy family. Its name is rooted in the Latin senex, for "old man", though the genus is neither stooped, frail, crochety, nor inherently wise. The story's much more homespun than that. Turns out that once upon a time, a botanist gazed upon the plant's fluffy, white seed heads and was reminded of his own grandfather's head of wiry, silver-gray hair. The suggestion was so strong, the botanist borrowed the image to give the plant its Latin name.

Charming, no? So what if I made it up, the explanation's entirely plausible. What is true is that the "old man" reference has been knocking around since the first century A.D., when the great naturalist Pliny made note of the plant's hoary, senescent flowers. - Ketzel Levine's Talking Plants

Packera aurea Growing and Maintenance Tips

Prefers consistently moist, well-drained soil in full sun to full shade. More sun requires more moisture. Excellent for native and wild gardens as well as color for shady wooded areas.