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Tansy
Tanacetum vulgare
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Tansy is a tall, strong‑smelling plant that returns each year, with flat‑topped clusters of bright yellow, button‑like flower heads. It often grows in dense patches along roadsides, field edges and other open places. The stiff, often reddish stems and fern‑like leaves are typical. Poisonous.
Did you know?
- Its yellow flower heads look like rows of buttons with no petals.
- Strongly scented; it was traditionally used to repel insects.
About the species
Identification
Upright, 60–150 cm, with stiff, often reddish stems that become woody at the base. Leaves are deeply divided and saw‑toothed, giving a fern‑like look; they smell strongly when crushed. Spreads by short creeping underground stems, so it often forms dense patches. Flower heads form a tight, flat‑topped cluster of many round, bright yellow “buttons” (about 7–12 mm) with no petals around the edge. Unlike ragwort and other yellow daisies, it shows no petal rays. Stems and seed heads often stand through winter. Poisonous. Flowers in Finland from July to September.
Plant group
Herbaceous plants
Habitat
shore
Toxicity
A poisonous plant – do not taste it. Source: HUS Poison Information Centre (Finland), tel. 0800 147 111.
Flowering
Jul–Sep
About the habitat
Open, sunny places such as roadsides, field edges, meadows, waste ground, shores and rocky spots; tolerates fairly dry soils. Common to Central Finland and along the Bothnian Bay coast to Northern Ostrobothnia; rather scarce in Lapland, Kuusamo and Kainuu. Native on coasts; introduced inland and in Lapland.
Sources
Photo: Agnes Monkelbaan, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bloemen van Boerenwormkruid (Tanacetum vulgare). 17-08-2025. (actm.) 01.jpg
Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki leviäimet, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39830
Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki versot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39830
Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Itämeri: kivikkorannat, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39830
Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietaryrtti
. 17-08-2025. (actm.) 01.jpg){kind=link}