Fall colours of Common Tansy

Though Common Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) is a weed that grows in our parks and natural areas, I still like coming across it, with its beautiful bright yellow, button-like flowers. This particular plant was photographed at Lafarge Meadows, Fish Creek Provincial Park, on 14 September 2014. In Alberta, this plant is listed as Noxious. It was a beautiful, sunny day - hard to believe that we had had two heavy, late-summer snowfalls on 9 and 10 September.

"Introduced from Europe in the 1600’s, its pungently aromatic foliage has been used medicinally, as an insect repellant, and for embalming. Common tansy forms dense stands and the plants contain alkaloids that are toxic to both humans and livestock if consumed in large quantities. Cases of livestock poisoning are rare, though, because tansy is unpalatable to grazing animals. Because of its long medicinal and horticultural use, Common tansy is still available in plant nurseries and from herbal remedy suppliers. Gardeners should not purchase Common tansy."