As a horse owner, ragwort is something I always try to pull out from fields. It is toxic to horses and can cause death. However, I read that it is also the natural food of gatekeeper butterflies and so was delighted to seem them dancing and feasting on a clump of ragwort in the set-aside land by the edge of my allotment. It is a native plant and something that cattle and horses will normally avoid eating. The greatest care should be taken, however, to avoid any ragwort finding its way into hay or silage.

Ragwort is a medicinal herb and the flowers and leaves can be used in dyes.

‘It is much commended, and not without cause, to helpe old aches and paines in the armes, hips, and legs, boiled in hogs grease to take the forme of an ointment.’ Gerard’s Herbal, 1636.

Gatekeeper butterflies look much like Meadow Browns but are smaller.