IT'S that time of the year again. The morning mist has rolled away. The battle lines have been drawn. A cunning plan of attack has been devised. The warriors have been equipped and well briefed. There is nothing left but to get in there and go for glory.

Okay, so ragwort bashing isn't quite so glamorous, but nevertheless it is a chore that we undertake every summer at Nature's World and, with more than 30 odd acres of land, it can take quite a bit of bashing. It usually takes two supervisors with a team of trainees each a whole week to complete the task. So why do we do it?

Well, ragwort, or Senecio jacobaea to give it its Latin name, is one of those plants that appears on the list of unwanted weeds. It is your responsibility to get rid of it if it appears on your land. But why is it so dangerous?

Farmers have long feared the plant. It can poison and kill livestock if eaten. However, quite bizarrely, it is only toxic when the plant has been picked and has died. Conversely, it is the one plant that the Cinnabar moth relies on for its' existence. Without ragwort the species would die out.

You would think that such a controversial plant would be unattractive but ragwort is quite a pretty plant. It is a short-lived perennial, standing two to three feet tall, with ruffles of mid green leaves and a burst of starry yellow flowers. It is in the compositae family, which means that it has lots of heads on one stalk. There is a fairly unpleasant odour about the plant. The seeds are light and easily dispersed by the wind, which is why it has become quite invasive.

We have had to go round with the trainees and show them how to distinguish ragwort from other yellow plants. The most commonly confused plant is the St John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) which is in flower at the same time. Luckily there are two easy tests that identify St John's Wort. Firstly, if you pick off a leaf and hold it up to the sky you will be able to make out a series of very small perforations. Secondly, if you crush the leaf on your hands and drag it across your skin you will see small black streaks left behind. This is completely harmless as the main medicinal use of the plant is in the lifting of mild depression. It has claimed to be very good for those who suffer from SAD, or seasonal affective disorder. This is where someone gets really down and depressed during the winter months. It has been linked to shortened daylight hours (working outside in a gardening environment has also been proven to help this disorder).

I know that I am going to get murmurs of disagreement when I say that there may be an alternative method of halting the spread of the weed than through the usual annual cull. If we study the preferred growing conditions of the plant then we see that it is a sun-loving plant that doesn't grow well in the shade. It also needs recently cultivated land or closely mown grass on which to germinate. If we allowed our shelterbelts and hedgerows to grow un-manicured then we would provide more shade and encourage competing plant species. If we lifted our blades on the lawn mower, or let areas revert to meadow then we prevent the ragwort from seeding. The plant literally exhausts itself and cannot germinate successfully. Trials done in Cornwall have shown that a field that was brimming full of ragwort could be cleared 'naturally' within a two year period using these principles.

It is our urge to tidy, dig over and cultivate the soil that is actually promoting the spread of ragwort. We want the problem sorted out straight away, and are often too impatient to wait a couple of seasons. We may also feel ashamed and stigmatised for allowing the plant to grow on our land. However, the secret to successfully defeating any invasion lies in knowing your enemy.

Published: ??/??/2002