Senecio pulcher

Senecio pulcher
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Senecio
Species: S. pulcher
Binomial name
Senecio pulcher
Hook. & Arn.[1]
Range of Senecio pulcher.

Senecio pulcher is an ornamental plant native to the wet valleys & slopes and flooded rocky[2] habitats in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. Cited in Flora Brasiliensis[3] by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius. After dusty miller (S. cineraria), S. pulcher is perhaps one of the most popular species of the genus for horticulture along with German ivy (Senecio mikanioides) and purple ragwort (Senecio elegans) or it was in 1917.[4]

Description

A robust 2 feet (0.61 m) to 4 feet (1.2 m) tall[4] erect herb perennial with a stem[2] covered with 'cobwebby' hairs. Its scarce leaves 4 inches (10 cm) to 10 inches (25 cm) long, shallow lobes along the margin with teeth and a thick taper at the tip.[4]

The late summer inflorescence very striking;[2] the radiate flower heads, 2 inches (5.1 cm) to 3 inches (7.6 cm) across with many long red-purple rays and a yellow disc.[4]

Distribution

Senecio pulcher grows at altitudes between 0 feet (0 m) and 2,600 feet (790 m)[5] in Southern Brazil, Uruguay and the southern mountains in Argentina.[4]

Horticulture

Senecio pulcher is grown as an ornamental plant in the United States and Europe; flowering in late summer;[2] it is known to be hardy in southern New England in protected places with well drained soils,[4] but its beauty can be marred by frost and bad weather.[6]

A native perennial, as a captive, S. pulcher is an annual who is hesitant to ripen its seed;[6] the gardeners continue the species with inch long root cuttings over-wintered in a pan of light sandy soil in a greenhouse.[6][7]

References

  1. Instituto de Biologia da Unicamp. "Senecio pulcher Hook. & Arn". Classificação segundo a Flora brasiliensis (in Portuguese). Reference Center on Environmental Information (CRIA). Retrieved 2008-02-28.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Rodrigo Tizón. "Púrpura COMPUESTAS Senecio pulcher". Guía de las Plantas Nativas del Sistema de Ventania (in Spanish). Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  3. Martius, Karl Friedrich Philipp von; Eichler, August Wilhelm; Endlicher, István László; Fenzl, Eduard; Mary, Benj; Oldenburg, R; Urban, Ignaz. (1840–1906). "Botanicus.org: Flora Brasiliensis, enumeratio plantarum in Brasilia hactenus detectarum". Monachii et Lipsiae [Munich & Leipzig] : R. Oldenbourg ; 1840-1906. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bailey, Liberty Hyde (1917). "Senecio". The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture: A Discussion for the Amateur, and ... (6 ed.). The Macmillan Company. p. 3639.
  5. Instituto Darwinion. "Asteraceae". Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares de la República Argentina. II (in Spanish). Universidad de Buenos Aires. pp. 209 (of 255). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  6. 1 2 3 Initial Author: Peter (2006-09-11). "Groundsel". LoveToKnow. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  7. "Autumn perennials for your greenhouse". Gardening howto. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
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