Two glorious sights of late summer involve masses of yellow flowers. One is Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) and the other is Common Fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica). I love them both and so do the masses of insects that feast on their flowers.

Common Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica, likes damper areas to grow than Common Ragwort and can be found in marshes, fens, by streams, in damp woodland rides and in wet hollows. It will grow on road verges, if there is enough moisture.

“Adding a touch of sun to the end of the flowering season, this vivid yellow bloom brightens many a damp ditch.” – Plantlife.

Large Skipper butterflies on Common Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica.

In the British Isles, Pulicaria dysenterica is commonest in England, Wales and Ireland and records are much scarcer in Scotland. It is a native of the British Isles and its range extends through much of Europe into Asia (the western Himalayas) and into North Africa (Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria). In Europe it grows as far north as Norway but not in Sweden or Finland. Common Fleabane has been introduced into the United States (New York state).

Common Fleabane is a perennial and a type of daisy, a member of family Asteraceae. The flower head is about 30mm across and consists of 40–100 ray and 20–30 tube florets aggregated together. ) Each one provides the perfect platform for insects to land on to gather ample supplies of nectar and pollen.

Flowers are produced for a short time between mid July and September and usually peak in August. They are followed by parachute-like seeds (like those of Dandelion) which can travel considerable distances but need bare ground to establish. Plants also spread by rhizomes and can form extensive clumps if the conditions are right for them. Common Fleabane often grows with Water Mint (Mentha aquatica), which I wrote about in August 2019, another great plant for insects.

Plants can form extensive clumps if the conditions are right for them. Common Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica, by a footpath across Sweetbriar Marshes, Norwich (26th July 2022).

Common Fleabane grows to to 50 – 90cm tall and alternate, lanceolate leaves clasp its flowering stems. These leaves are wrinkly and fleshy and glaucous in colour. (See The Wildflower Finder website for more photographs.)

So why Fleabane? The smell of the leaves gives a clue: hints of carbolic soap and chrysanthemum. The dried leaves act as an insect repellant and dried bunches of leaves were sometimes hung up indoors to deter fleas or burnt to act as a fumigant. The root and leaves were sometimes used to treat dysentery and wounds were treated with a paste of the plant, applied externally. Other past uses “include treatments for unspecified eye ailments“. (It’s best not to try this at home.)

The genus name Pulicaria derives from Pulex (Pulex irritans is the Human Flea) and the specific name references the plant’s use in treating dysentery. In North America, Common Fleabane is known as Meadow False Fleabane. The Plantlife website lists some other English names for Pulicaria dysenterica:  Harvest Flower (from its flowering time),  Job’s Tears, Camels, Mare’s Fat and Pig-daisy (note 1).

The Diverse Gardens website says that Common Fleabane leaves can be eaten either raw or preferably cooked and added to other greens, but the Plants For A Future website says “edibility unknown” (note 2). I haven’t experimented (note 3).

If your garden soil is damp enough you might like to grow Common Fleabane. The RHS specifically recommends the plant for wildflower meadows and wildlife gardens with poorly drained soil. The plant prefers full sun. It is generally free of pests and diseases and is frost hardy. (Its hardiness is H6: hardy throughout the UK and Northern Europe, down to -15 to -20 Celsius.) Common Fleabane is on the RHS “Perfect For Pollinators” list. There seems to be only one potential snag: if it really likes your garden Common Fleabane can be invasive, spreading by its roots. But I would take the chance if you’re able to grow it. (Our garden is far too dry, so I have never tried.)

Common Fleabane can be grown from seed (for example, from Emorsgate Seeds but out of stock at the time of writing) or from plug plants (such as from Naturescape). The Plants For A Future website has some useful propagation tips.

Finally, here are a few more photographs of insects enjoying Common Fleabane flowers, taken in the last few days in the Norwich area.

What will you find on Common Fleabane flowers near you?

Locust Blowfly, Stomorhina lunata, on Common Fleabane.

Small Copper butterfly on Common Fleabane.

A female Pantaloon Bee, Dasypoda hirtipes, on Common Fleabane.

Mirid bug Deraeocoris ruber on Common Fleabane. A predatory species, often seen on nettles.

Notes

Note 1 – I wonder whether it should be “Mare’s Fart” instead of “Mare’s Fat”? The former name is sometimes used for Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) because of its not very pleasant smell, so might also be applied to Common Fleabane. It’s just one of many wonderful old names for plants and fungi, many of which have slipped out of common usage.

Note 2 – I did a quick online search and found research papers looking at the chemical composition of the essential oils of Pulicaria dysenterica. A 2011 paper by Basta et. al. looking at P. dysenterica in Greece lists nerolidol, caryophyllene oxide and Beta-caryophyllene. However, a 2014 paper by Sharifi-Rad et. al. looking at P. dysenterica in Iran gives different results, listing thymol as a major constituent (40.22%), along with many other compounds not mentioned by Basta et. al. I decided to stop looking before I went further down that rabbit hole.

Note 3 – A day after I wrote this post I had a chew on a leaf. The flavour was very complex and hard for me to describe, but interesting and not unpleasant.