ID Of The Herb belonging to Asteraceae is requested

[taffa...@gmail.com]

Dear Members,

Kindly help in identifying the herb whose photos are attached. It was growing wild in a field in Srinagar. It was photographed today only .

Regards

Taffazull

[Gurcharan Singh]

Senecio vulgaris, a common Spring weed in Kashmir. An interesting story relating to this plant. The plant is very common in KU Campus, especially Orchards behind Botanical Garden. We were taught in our M. Sc. Class that it is Sonchus plant, and it came in our final exam also to describe and identify the genus from the Key. I had the habit of describing flowers from original plant, and as such I described the capitulum with disc florets (as ray florets are highly reduced in this species), but when using the key it did not fit Sonchus (in which there are only ray florets), but I and other friends wrote Sonchus, as there was no other option, but this bugged me a lot, and when I joined research, this was the first plant I investigated and found that species has never been reported from Kashmir, and published as among first records from Kashmir in 1972. I am attaching the paper. 

[taffa...@gmail.com]

Dear Gurcharan Ji,

Thanks for  the ID and the very interesting anecdote and copy of paper. That students were forced to identify a plant  with only disc florets as Sonchus a plant with only ray florets speaks volumes about how much more we have to do to improve our educational institutions. In your paper you have referred to it  along with Trifolium dubium as an introduced species (which has become invasive like Conyza).  Conyza canadensis has even been given a vernacular name "Shael e loet" by the locals.
With sincere regards

Taffazull

[Mahadeswara]

Great  work Sir ji. I went through your publication. 

With Regards,

[taffa...@gmail.com]

Some fun facts about the herb:

The common English name for this herb is Groundsel. According to Collins English Dictionary the name origin is from Old English gund  pus and swelgan  to swallow or absorb. In olden days before the discovery of antiseptics and antibiotics  a poultice made from the herb was apparently effective for treating suppurating wounds.

It is also called ragwort because its leaves look like torn cloth(rags).

The origin of its botanical name has been described in "A Modern Herbal" by Mrs.M.Grieve in the following words "Senecio, derived from Senex (an old man), in reference to its downy head of seeds; 'the flower of this herb hath white hair and when the wind bloweth it away, then it appeareth like a bald-headed man.".  The English word "Senile" has the same origin.

Regards

Taffazull

[taffa...@gmail.com]

One more photo taken on 22 March. The downy head of seeds seen in the photo gives it its common English name old-man-in-the spring and is also the reason for its botanical generic name derived from senex  meaning an old man in Latin.

Regards

Taffazull

[taffa...@gmail.com]

A correction.

Please read the English name as old-man-in-spring

Regards

Taffazull