There is a large colony of this plant on my neighbor’s property and since it grows in a rather damp location, I didn’t expect to find it on my property. But here it is! I took this picture, on my neighbor’s property, back in May of 2008.

Here is the picture that I took on this trip – I didn’t recognize the plant because it had not yet flowered.

The Latin name has recently changed from senecio aureus to packera aurea.

The Native Americans used a tea of the plant for heart trouble and to prevent pregnancy while the early settlers used it to treat lung diseases, aid childbirth, and to regulate menstrual periods. Scientists have studied the toxic alkaloid that the plant contains, pyrrolizidine, and don’t recommend that it be ingested, however. Pyrrolizidine is thought to be carcinogenic and to cause liver damage.