Common tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)

Common Names: Garden tansy

Description: Introduced to North America for medicinal purposes and as an ornamental plant; toxic.

Habit: Perennial forb, grows to a height of 2-5 ft.

Leaves: Alternate and pinnately compound with deeply divided, toothed fernlike leaflets. 4-10 in long and 1.5-3 in wide and strongly scented when crushed.

Stems: Erect; 2-5 ft tall; grows in clusters; slightly hairy; woody and purplish red near ground.

Flowers: Yellow in color, daisy-like flower heads, 1/3 in wide and arranged in a showy, flat-topped inflorescence at the top of the stem; blooms from July through October.

Fruit and seeds: Produce numerous tufted seeds, spread by wind and water.

Habitat: Native to Europe. Found in open disturbed areas, roadsides, pastures, fields, prairies, hedgerows, gardens and naturally disturbed environments, such as flood-scoured river shores.

Reproduction: By seed that are dispersed by wind and water or expansion of short rhizomes.

Similar species: Stinking willie (Senecio jacobaea), a poisonous pasture weed & non-aromatic; Lake Huron tansy (Tanacetum bipinnatum).

Monitoring and rapid response: Can be cut, tilled or dug up; removing entire rootstock. Mow prior to flowering, repeat mowing as needed to prevent seed set. Effectively controlled using any of several readily available general use herbicides such as glyphosate.

Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.

Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org).Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).

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