Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Butterweed - Packera glabella   (Poiret) C. Jeffrey
Members of Asteraceae:
Members of Packera with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 6 » Order Asterales » Family Asteraceae
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Author(Poiret) C. Jeffrey
DistributionSouthern and central Outer Coastal Plain, north to Beaufort County; sparingly into the eastern and southern Piedmont (photos on iNaturalist). Rather disjunct to Gaston County, "southwestern corner of county" in 1966; Union County, "floodplain of Waxhaw Creek" in 2011, and Anson County in 2023. Evidence suggests that the species is "moving" farther inland in recent decades and is to be looked for in other rich brownwater swamps and bottomlands in the upper Coastal Plain and lower Piedmont.

NC, OH, IL, and NE, south to northern FL and TX.
AbundanceIn the southeastern Coastal Plain, uncommon to locally common (in a few brownwater floodplains). Rare and local inland to Durham and Gaston counties.
HabitatMoist to wet soils of floodplains, bottomlands, and swamp forests, fresh marshes, wet agricultural fields, ditches. This species requires rich soil, such as in brownwater floodplains or wet forests over marl.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting late March - early June.
IdentificationButterweed is readily identified by its annual habit and the wide, rounded leaf lobes (e.g., none narrow or pointed). The inflorescence is often multi-layered, seldom flat-topped. Plants grow 1-4 feet tall, a more robust species than any other Packera species in the state.
Taxonomic CommentsFormerly Senecio glabellus.

Other Common Name(s)Cressleaf Groundsel. Butterweed is a poor name, as it suggests no particular genus or family. But essentially all references and websites use this name, instead of "xxxxx Ragwort". Maybe it should be named as Butterweed Ragwort?
State RankS3
Global RankG5
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Photo Gallery
photographercommentsphoto_linkcountyobsType
B.A. SorrieThreemile Creek floodplain, April 2011. UnionPhoto_natural
Harry LeGrandJohnston County; WRC boat ramp margin, Neuse River floodplain; 8 April 2021 JohnstonPhoto_natural
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