Groundsel, or common groundsel, is a common weed of the daisy family. The plant grew originally in Asia and Europe but has spread to many other parts of the world.
Common groundsels are small annual plants that may grow up to a foot (30 centimeters) tall. They have green leaves with irregularly toothed lobes. In some plants, the leaves bear white, hairlike coverings. Small yellow flowers grow in clusters at the ends of short stalks. The plants produce fruit in great abundance. When the scattered fruit sprout, new mature plants grow and bear fruit in as little as five weeks. There may be two or three generations of plants in one season. There would be 1,000 million new plants by the end of the third generation if all the seedlings of a single plant were to survive. Groundsel seedlings can easily smother neglected garden plants.
