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groundsel |
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groundsel (ground`səl), any plant of the very large genus Senecio, widely distributed herbs and (in the tropics) shrubs or trees of the family Asteraceae (aster aster [Gr.,=star], common name for the Asteraceae (Compositae), the aster family, in North America, name for plants of the genus Aster, sometimes called wild asters, and for a related plant more correctly called China aster (Callistephus chinensis ..... Click the link for more information. family). Many grow as vines. Most North American species have small, yellow, daisylike flowers; they are especially abundant in the plains region. Some species of the genus are better known as ragworts. The golden ragwort, or squawweed (S. aureus), was used as an emmenagogue and a vulnerary by Native Americans and settlers. Other species have also been used medicinally. A few have been found to be poisonous to livestock, although others are useful for grazing. The common groundsel (S. vulgaris), naturalized from Europe, is one of the species that is sometimes cultivated. The fruits of groundsels usually have a conspicuous white down (pappus), a characteristic shared by Baccharis halmifolia, the groundsel tree, which is a related shrub of the E United States. Groundsel is classified in the division Magnoliophyta Magnoliophyta (măg'nōlēŏf`ətə) ..... Click the link for more information. , class Magnoliopsida, order Asterales, family Asteraceae. groundsel 1. any of certain plants of the genus Senecio, esp S. vulgaris, a Eurasian weed with heads of small yellow flowers: family Asteraceae (composites) 2. groundsel tree a shrub, Baccharis halimifolia, of E North America, with white plumelike fruits: family Asteraceae How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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| ? Mentioned in | ? References in classic literature | |
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Some groundsel was strewed on a table which stood immediately under the cage. There was fresh groundsel, too, for Miss Maylie's birds, with which Oliver, who had been studying the subject under the able tuition of the village clerk, would decorate the cages, in the most approved taste. There was always a superfluity of broad beans--it took nine or ten of Adam's strides to get to the end of the uncut grass walk that ran by the side of them; and as for other vegetables, there was so much more room than was necessary for them that in the rotation of crops a large flourishing bed of groundsel was of yearly occurrence on one spot or other. |
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