Asteraceae : Tanacetum vulgare

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Family Name

Asteraceae

Common Name

Common tansy

Description

T

Tanacetum vulgare is a perennial herb with erect, usually smooth stems arising from a branched rhizome, singly or in clusters growing 50–150 cm tall and branching near the top. The plant is strongly scented and has numerous, alternate, twice pinnately divided, fern-like green leaves. The inflorescence consist of numerous (up to 200) heads in a corymbiform cyme. The heads are disk shaped, hemispheric at maturity, 5-10 mm in diameter and surrounded by an involucre of overlapping bracts. The outer yellow disc flowers are tubular and 3-toothed and the inner corollas are 5-toothed. The achenes are 5-sided with a short crown-like pappus. Tansy blooms in July and August in waste places stream banks and flood plains in the eastern and western edges of South Dakota.

Additional Notes

Tansy was introduced from Eurasia as an ornamental and medicinal plant. It is an invasive naturalized plant species and is considered a noxious weed in many states. Planting of this species is discouraged.