Illegal plant is everywhere and thriving

Ragwort is lethal to horses and cattle; and landowners can be fined €1,000 for having it but the bright yellow flowers are attractive to pollinators

A bee on ragwort at Sun Valley Drive, Cork city. Ragwort attracts pollinators and is also an important host plant for the cinnabar moth. Picture: Larry Cummins

Anybody travelling around the country during the holiday period must have surely noticed a certain yellow plant growing in abundance.

Visiting several counties in the west and south, I’ve never seen such a proliferation of ragwort (buachalán) — an illegal plant lethal to horses and cattle.