Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Senecio vulgaris L.

Family

Asteraceae (Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory)
Compositae (South Australia)

Common Names

bird seed, common fireweed, common groundsel, common ragwort, groundsel, old man in the spring, old-man-in-the-spring, ragwort, sticky groundsel, stinking groundsel, wood groundsel

Origin

Native to northern Africa (i.e. Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia), Europe, western Asia (i.e. Iran and Georgia) and northern Asia (i.e. Russia, north-eastern China and Korea).

Naturalised Distribution

This species is widely naturalised in the wetter parts of southern Australia (i.e. in parts of southern and central New South Wales, in Victoria and Tasmania, in south-eastern South Australia and in the coastal districts of south-western Western Australia). It is also sparingly naturalised in south-eastern Queensland and the ACT and possibly naturalised on Lord Howe Island.

Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) is also widely naturalised in other parts of the world, including throughout most of North America (i.e. Alaska, Canada and the USA) and in Hawaii.

Notes

Common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) is sometimes regarded as a minor environmental weed in southern Australia, though it is mainly a weed of disturbed sites, urban areas and cultivation. This species is occasionally seen in disturbed natural areas, where it is generally not regarded as a problem, though it has been recorded in conservation areas in Victoria (e.g. Morwell National Park and Yarra Bend Park) and South Australia (e.g. Belair National Park and Deep Creek Conservation Park).

It is also occasionally found in coastal environs. For example, common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) is described as a minor weed of saltmarshes in central New South Wales, as a weed of shorelines in South Australia, and an ephemeral weed that occupies bare areas on beaches in Tasmania.