Piedmont ragwort

Senecio millefolium Torrey & A. Gray, Fl. N. Amer. 2: 444. 1843; S. memmingeri Britton ex Small

Perennials, 25–60+ cm; fibrous-rooted (caudices branched). Stems 1 or 2–3, clustered, glabrous or leaf axils sparsely hairy. Basal leaves (and proximal cauline) petiolate; blades narrowly ovate to ovate (2–3 times pinnately dissected, ultimate lobes mostly linear to filiform), 50–80 × 30–50 mm, bases ± truncate or auriculate, ultimate margins entire or remotely dentate. Cauline leaves gradually reduced (petiolate or sessile, similar to basals). Heads 10–30+ in open, corymbiform arrays. Peduncles bracteate or ebracteate, glabrous. Calyculi 0. Phyllaries (13–)21, green, 4–6 mm, glabrous (tips sometimes hair-tufted). Ray florets 8–10(–13); corolla laminae 8–12 mm. Disc florets 35–50+; corolla tubes 2–3 mm, limbs 1.5–2.5 mm. Cypselae 0.75–1.5 mm, hairy on ribs; pappi 3–4 mm.

Flowering early May–mid Jun. Open areas along streams, rock outcrops in thin, granitic-derived soils; of conservation concern; 400–900 m; Ga., N.C., S.C., Va.

Packera millefolium is known only from granitic soils in the southern Appalachians. It is similar in overall aspect to the widespread P. anonyma; it differs by its 2–3 times pinnately dissected leaves.