Ragwort has several different Gaelic names including Buadhlan buidhe, buadhghallan and guiseag bhuide/cuiseag.

The ragwort was much prized by the old people who used to store it amongst the corn to keep the mice away. The fairies sheltered beside the ragwort on stormy nights and rode a stride the ragwort in voyaging from island to island.

The juice of the ragwort is astringent and was used to treat burns, eye inflammations, sores and cancerous ulcers, as a gargle for an ulcerated throat and mouth and as a treatment for bee stings.The whole plant can be used to produce bronze, yellow and green dyes.

It is known in some parts as 'stinking Willie', as it is said to have been spread around the country by english troops after the Jacobite Rebellion. It's name is a direct reference to the hated 'Butcher' Cumberland. 

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