I set myself a task in 2010 and that is to photograph as many of our plants as I could. This included those flowers which are not popular in our countryside.

Very close to the Pleasure Beach and opposite the holiday camp and Blackpool Airport I set off into the sand dunes. The sun reflected from the golden yellow flower of the ragwort, one of the most beautiful plants in Britain. It is, however, far too common to be looked at closely and it is also poisonous which means it is relegated to the third division of the flower league and is called a weed.

Ragwort grows in all waste places, especially sand dunes, fields and hedges. It contains a poison related to cyanide and if horses or cows eat a lot of it they can become very ill.

Ragwort is a tall plant often reaching more than a metre. The stem is very rough and the leaves grow all the way up it. These have irregular shapes and look very ragged. This has given rise to its common name of ragwort.

The botanical name for the plant is senecio jacobaea and the jacobaea bit is interesting. In olden time ragwort was dedicated to St James who was them know as Jacobus and the flowers are always in bloom on July 25 which is his saints day. In our part of Britain ragwort is seen at its best in August and September.

The flower heads grow in large clusters at the top of the branching stem. Each flower head is made up of two sorts of floret. Some are disc-shaped and they are surrounded by others which are strap shaped.

Despite the fact that the plant is poisonous the ragwort is a great favourite with insects. My day in the dunes was hot, especially where sheltered from the breeze. The insects loved it and there were bees and hundreds of butterflies around – including common blue, grayling, meadow brown and snail tortoiseshell. All these were drinking the nectar from the ragwort flowers which does not seem to harm them in anyway.

Far from being a weed the ragwort is a most interesting plant. I spent so long looking at the insects sunbathing on the ragwort that I forgot to sunbathe.

I would love to hear about and see photographs of plants taken by readers and perhaps we can discover more of the hidden secrets of our Lancashire flowers.