Editing Jacobaea vulgaris (section)

==Description== 
The plant is generally considered to be biennial but it has the tendency to exhibit perennial properties under certain cultural conditions (such as when subjected to repeated grazing or mowing).<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1017/S0890037X00032115 |title=The Toxicity of Tansy Ragwort |journal=Weed Technology |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=436–438 |year=1989 |last1=Howatt |first1=Stephen |s2cid=90478222}}</ref> The stems are erect, straight, have no or few hairs, and reach a height of {{convert|0.3|-|2.0|m}}. The leaves are [[Pinnation|pinnately]] lobed and the end lobe is blunt.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Parnell |first1=J. |last2=Curtis |first2=T. |date=2012 |title=Webb's An Irish Flora |publisher=[[Cork University Press]] |isbn=978-185918-4783}}
</ref> The many names that include the word "stinking" (and Mare's Fart) arise because of the unpleasant smell of the [[leaf|leaves]]. The hermaphrodite [[flower]] heads are {{convert|1.5|-|2.5|cm|1}} diameter, and are borne in dense, flat-topped clusters; the florets are bright yellow. It has a long flowering period lasting from June to November (in the [[Northern Hemisphere]]).

Pollination is by a wide range of [[bee]]s, [[fly|flies]] and [[Lepidoptera|moths and butterflies]]. Over a season, one plant may produce 2,000 to 2,500 yellow flowers in 20- to 60-headed, flat-topped [[corymb]]s. The [[achene]]s have [[dandelion]]-like groups of prickly hairs called [[Pappus (botany)|pappuses]], which help [[seed dispersal]] by the wind.<ref>{{cite web |title=BMP:TANSY RAGWORT (Senecio jacobaea) |url=https://weedwise.conservationdistrict.org/management/tansy-ragwort |website=WeedWise Program |access-date=20 July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Care and advice |url=https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.ie/ragwort |website=The Donkey Sanctuary Ireland |access-date=20 July 2024 |language=en}}</ref> The number of seeds produced may be as large as 75,000 to 120,000, although in its native range in Eurasia very few of these would grow into new plants and research has shown that most seeds do not travel a great distance from the parent plant.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Poole |first1=A. L. |last2=Cairns |first2=D. |title=Botanical Aspects of Ragwort (''Senecio jacobaea'' L.) Control. |journal=Bulletin of the New Zealand Department of Science and Industrial Research |date=1940 |volume=82 |pages=1–66}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 1939891|title = Wind Dispersal Distances in Dimorphic Achenes of Ragwort, Senecio Jacobaea|journal = Ecology|volume = 68|issue = 6|pages = 2006–2015|last1 = McEvoy|first1 = Peter B.|last2 = Cox|first2 = Caroline S.|year = 1987|doi = 10.2307/1939891|pmid = 29357152| bibcode=1987Ecol...68.2006M }}</ref>