Senecio aureus L. var. aquilonius Fernald
Senecio aureus L. var. gracilis (Pursh) Hook.
Senecio aureus L. var. intercursus Fernald
Senecio gracilis Pursh
Packera aurea (L.) Á. Löve & D. Löve
Butterweed, golden groundsel, golden ragwort
Butterweed is native to eastern North America.
Plants: Flowering stems are 6–24″ (15–60 cm) high. Plants spread via thick, basal shoots that grow along the ground.
Leaves: A basal rosette of leaves is 6–8″ (15–20 cm) around consists of heart-shaped leaves that are 2–3 ⨉ 2″ (5–7.6 ⨉ 5 cm), dark green above, and purple below. Leaf petioles are about the same length as the leaves.
Flowers: Flower stalks usually have a few alternate pinnatifid leaves (Photo 3). A flat-topped panicle has several flowerheads on separate pedicels. Each composite flower is ¾–1″ (1.9–2.5 cm) across, with a central disc flower comprised of golden disc florets, and 6-16 yellow ray florets. The base of each flower consists of multiple linear parallel green bracts arranged in a cylindrical shape about ⅜″ tall ⨉ ¼″ wide (9.5 ⨉ 6.3 mm). Flowers appear in April.
Fruits: Disc florets become purple bullet-shaped achenes, which are distributed by wind.
Habitats: Forests, swamps, ravines, or riparian areas, in full sun or shade.
Online References:
Senecio aureus L.
Senecio aureus L. var. aquilonius Fernald
Senecio aureus L. var. gracilis (Pursh) Hook.
Senecio aureus L. var. intercursus Fernald
Senecio gracilis Pursh
Senecio aureus L. var. aquilonius Fernald
Senecio aureus L. var. gracilis (Pursh) Hook.
Senecio aureus L. var. intercursus Fernald
Senecio gracilis Pursh
1 · 5/21/2026 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm) 
2 · 5/21/2026 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (14 × 12 cm) 
3 · 5/22/2026 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (14 × 12 cm) 
4 · 5/22/2026 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia · ≈ 5 × 4″ (13 × 10 cm) 
5 · 5/22/2026 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia · ≈ 6 × 6″ (15 × 14 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Asterales | Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies |
| Family | Asteraceae | The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers |
| Genus | Packera | Named after botanist John G. Packer (1929- ), specialist on the flora of Alberta and on Arctic and alpine flora, instructor in the Department of Botany at the University of Alberta 1958-1988, co-author with Cheryl Bradley of Checklist of the rare vascular plants in Alberta (1984), one of the editors of the English edition of Flora of the Russian Arctic (2000), co-author with his wife of Some Common and Interesting Plants of San Miguel de Allende (Mexico). He also revised E.H. Moss’s Flora of Alberta (1983), worked to protect Mountain Park in the Canadian Rockies from an open-pit coal mine, and is currently contributor and on the editorial committee for Flora of North America |
| Species | aurea | Latin for “gold” |
Packera aurea description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.