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Glite Dictionary
tansy ragwort

tansy ragwort

9.6
A common European weed with yellow flowers that is poisonous to cattle if eaten
  • noun
  • /ˈtæn.zi ˈræɡ.wɔrt/
  • UK
translation icon : ragwort de tanaceto
  • Volunteers gathered in the field to remove patches of tansy ragwort before it could flower.

Examples

  • Cattle can become seriously ill if they consume large amounts of tansy ragwort.

  • The farmer was concerned to see tansy ragwort spreading across his pasture.

  • The tansy ragwort is often found in fields.

  • Farmers are concerned about tansy ragworts invading their pastures.

  • Cattle can become seriously ill if they consume large amounts of tansy ragwort.

  • The farmer was concerned to see tansy ragwort spreading across his pasture.

  • Volunteers gathered in the field to remove patches of tansy ragwort before it could flower.

Synonyms

ragwort
vstansy ragwort
  • UK
1 8.6

A wild plant with yellow daisy-like flowers that is poisonous to farm animals

is considered harmful less often and called noxious only sometimes
Senecio jacobaea
vstansy ragwort
  • Specialized
9.9

A common European plant with bright yellow daisy-like flowers called ragwort that is poisonous to cattle

is the common description noting occasional pest status and cattle toxicity
benweed
vstansy ragwort
  • UK
9.9

A common weed with yellow daisy-like flowers that can poison cattle

is presented as only sometimes labelled noxious rather than certainly toxic

Surface Forms

tansy ragwort singular
tansy ragworts plural

Morphology

tansy + ragwort

This is a compositional noun phrase where 'tansy' modifies 'ragwort', so a learner who knows 'tansy' (a yellow‑flowered herb) and 'ragwort' (a harmful weed) can infer it denotes a ragwort species resembling or related to tansy — a yellow, often toxic weed. The modifier+noun pattern is a regular, cross‑linguistic compounding strategy, making the sense reasonably predictable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Tansy ragwort comes from two plant names: tansy (a bitter-smelling herb) and ragwort (a common yellow wildflower). People thought this plant looked like a ragwort but had leaves and a smell like tansy, so the name helps you remember it is a wild 'weed' that can be 'toxic' to cattle.