Senecio angulatus
Senecio angulatus | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Genus: | Senecio |
Species: | S. angulatus
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Binomial name | |
Senecio angulatus L.f. (1781)
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Native range of S. angulatus | |
Synonyms | |
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Senecio angulatus, also known as creeping groundsel[5] and sometimes as Cape ivy,[6] is a succulent flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to South Africa. It is a scrambling[7] and a twining herb[8] that can become an aggressive weed once established, making it an invasive species in some countries.[3] However, it is grown as an ornamental plant for its satiny foliage and sweet-scented flowers.[9]
Senecio angulatus can be distinguished vegetatively from Delairea odorata by the lack of lobes at the leaf stalk base, the fleshy leaf surface and the outwardly curved leaf teeth.[3] D.odorata lacks ray florets with petal-like ligules.[10] In Australia, Senecio tamoides may usually be misapplied and is considered to be Senecio angulatus.[11]
Description[]
Leaves and stems[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Senecio_angulatus_006.jpg/200px-Senecio_angulatus_006.jpg)
Its form is a dense tangled shrub 2 metres (6.6 ft) tall[12] or a climber that can reach 6 metres (20 ft) high, if suitable support is available.[8] The leaves are rhombic to ovate, 3 centimetres (1.2 in) to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) long and 1 centimetre (0.39 in) to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) wide and occur in 1-4 pairs. They are thick, glossy, fleshy and coarsely toothed, with one to three teeth each side[3] and bluntly lobed,[12] with upper leaves becoming smaller with fewer teeth or none at all.[3] They have a frosted look from a powdery coating on the lower side.
Leaf stalks are 1 centimetre (0.39 in) to 4 centimetres (1.6 in) long.[10]
The stems are succulent, pale green, and are often variegated with pale yellow green and purple. They are slightly angular (not upright) and usually sparingly branched.[3] Neither stems nor leaves are hairy.[3][10]
Inflorescence[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Senecio_angulatus_flower_racemes.jpg/200px-Senecio_angulatus_flower_racemes.jpg)
Senecio angulatus produces numerous flowers in open clusters at the end of its branches or stems.[3] The honey-scented flowers are on an elongated stem that continue to open in succession from the base up as the stem continues to grow. The flower clusters are more flat at the top than pyramid-like, and are 4 centimetres (1.6 in) to 8 centimetres (3.1 in) in diameter.[10] Often the cluster droops with the flower heads at the end of the cluster turning upwards.
Flower stalks are mostly hairless or with some short hairs, 6.5 millimetres (0.26 in) to 10.5 millimetres (0.41 in) long. Attached to flower stalks are 8-11 fine pointed bracts 5 millimetres (0.20 in) to 6 millimetres (0.24 in)[3] which are surrounded by 4-7 pale green and sometimes purple tinged supplementary bracts at the base, 1.5 millimetres to 2.5 millimetres which make a cup shape around the base of the involucre.
Individual flower-heads are radiate and urn-shaped.[10] The corolla has a disc[3] comprising 10-15 dull golden yellow disc florets.[10] Each disc floret is a hairless tube with a slight expansion below the middle and lobes 1.3 millimetres to 2 millimetres wide. 4- 6 ray florets surround the disc florets and have yellow[3]ligules (that look like petals) 5.5 millimetres (0.22 in) to 9.5 millimetres (0.37 in) long that make the flowers look daisy-like.[12]
An autumn-winter bloomer, the plant flowers from April to May in Southern Africa[8] and May to July in Australia and New Zealand.[10] In the northern hemisphere, particularly in Italy and Spain, it flowers from November to the end of January.[13][14]
Fruits and reproduction[]
Creeping groundsel is easily dispersed by wind-blown seed, stem fragments, and dumped garden waste.[12] Achenes are 3 millimetres to 4 millimetres long,[3] ribbed or grooved with short hairs in the grooves[3] and a tapering cylindrical shape.[3][10] The parachute-like hairs, the pappus, are 5 millimetres to 7 millimetres long.[3][10]
Cultivation[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Senecio_angulatus_bloom.jpg/250px-Senecio_angulatus_bloom.jpg)
The plant is cultivated in parts of North Africa, Southern Europe and the Levant.[15][16] It was introduced in Malta in the 15th century as an ornamental plant.[17] In Queensland, climbing groundsel may have increased in popularity following the Boer War, as there were anecdotal accounts that it was introduced from South Africa by the soldiers who returned to Australia after 1902. Moreover, it was displayed in garden pillars in Brisbane newspapers between 1906 and 1910, praising the plant for the beauty of both its foliage and its yellow clusters of blooms. Though these reports may have falsely applied the S. angulatus name to Senecio tamoides, which was a weed at that time on the east coast.[18]
The plant was collected as a weed in Melbourne's southern suburb of Mornington in 1936, and was displayed in newspaper column submissions in areas between Bendigo and Swan Hill in the 1940s and 1950s. In Melbourne metropolitan area, it became prevalent on coastal banks and on decomposed rock gullies of suburban creeks.[18]
The plant grows in USDA hardiness zones 9a through 11b and is medium to fast-growing. Very drought tolerant, it would flourish better with some water in the summer and would bloom more often in full sun. It can grow indoors as a houseplant, provided it gets some sunlight. Pruning is necessary as the plant can become limp when it gets taller.[19]
Propagation can be done by cuttings (as the plant easily roots from the branch tips), and this is to be conducted between spring and fall.[20][21] Seeds prefer consistent moisture and warm temperatures to germinate. Annual fertilisation is necessary, though not mandatory. Pests include aphids.
Distribution[]
It is native to the Cape Province in South Africa, but is naturalized in parts of South Italy, France, Portugal and some coastal areas in southeastern Australia.[10] It is invasive in New Zealand and an environmental weed in Victoria, Australia.[7] Because it is aggressive, it can smother the existing native vegetation both in the ground layer and canopy, thus altering the light climate in the invaded community and sometimes suppress the regeneration of native plants.[12]
Native:
- Afrotropic
- Southern Africa: South Africa (Cape Province)
Current
- Afrotropic
- East Tropical Africa: Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania
- Southern Africa: South Africa
- Australasia
- Australia: Western Australia (Esperance Plains, Warren, Swan Coastal Plain),[8] New South Wales (South Coast and Mid North Coast), southern Victoria and Tasmania.
- New Zealand: New Zealand North, New Zealand South (Nelson City, Wairau Bar (Marlborough), Banks Peninsula)
- Palearctic
- Northern Africa: Tunisia, Libya[17] and Algeria[22]
- Macaronesia: Canary Islands (Gran Canaria, Hierro, Tenerife), Balearic Islands (Ibiza, Formentera, Mallorca, Menorca)
- Southwestern Europe: Corsica, Channel Islands, Spain, France & Monaco, Portugal
- Southeastern Europe: Italy, Sardinia, Sicily, Albania, Croatia and surrounding islands[17]
Sources: GRIN,[2] FBAF,[8] NSWF,[10] NZPND,[3] BGB[16]
Habitat[]
Creeping groundsel prefers soils of black calcareous and grey sand, sandy clay and limestone. It finds homes with these soils in coastal areas on cliff faces, mudflats, wet depressions in dunes, near swamps,[8] in landfills, scrubland and near settlements,[10] especially near the sea.[3]
Common names[]
- English: Creeping groundsel,[5] garden senecio, mile-a-minute, scrambling groundsel
- French: Séneçon anguleux[16] (senecio angular)
- Italian: senecio rampicante (creeping senecio)
- Spanish: la hiedra del Cabo, senecio hiedra (cape ivy, senecio ivy)
- Xhosa: inDindilili[6]
- Arabic: الشيخة القريض, الشيخة الزحف القريض, دعسة القطة, سلك التلفون (telephone cord, cat's footprint, climbing groundsel)
Gallery[]
Bunch of flowers
Grown as a shrub
Disc florets
By the sea
Emerging flowers
In a garden patio
As a balcony plant
Hanging from a rocky wall
Pappus
Potted plant
Specimen on a trellis
References[]
- ^ "Senecio angulatus". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Senecio angulatus". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Landcare Research. "Senecio angulatus L.f. Suppl. 369 (1781)". Flora of New Zealand: Taxa. Landcare Research Allan Herbarium and New Zealand Plant Names Database. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
- ^ The Plant List. "Cineraria laevis A.Spreng". TICA. The Plant List. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Muyt, Adam (2001). Bush invaders of south-east Australia: a guide to the identification and control of environmental weeds in south-east Australia. R.G. and F.J. Richardson. pp. 304 pages. ISBN 0-9587439-7-5. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Quattrocchi, Umberto (2000). "Page 2456". CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology. CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-2673-7. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Cape ivy (Senecio angulatus)". Controlling problem weeds in riparian zones. Greater Wellington Regional Council. 2004. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Western Australian Herbarium (2007-09-11). "Senecio angulatus L.f." FloraBase. Government of Western Australia. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ La Concepción y sus doce embajadoras by La Opinión de Málaga
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l National Herbarium of New South Wales. "Senecio angulatus L." New South Wales FloraOnline. Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ Weeds of Australia (Biosecurity Queensland Edition). "Senecio angulatus L. f." Queensland Government. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Tom Forney, Steve Hurst (2007). "Kudzu Pueraria lobata" (PDF). Government of Oregon. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ Senecio angulatus – Senecio rampicante by Laura Bennet from CASA E GIARDINO
- ^ Senecio angulatus, il rampicante fiorito a novembre by Giovanna Rio from Cose di Casa
- ^ "Parks where cultivated Senecio angulatus". Institut Botànic de Barcelona. Retrieved 2008-03-31.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem. "Details for: Senecio angulatus". Euro+Med PlantBase. Freie Universität Berlin. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Senecio angulatus (Creeping Groundsel) MaltaWildPlants.com by Stephen Mifsud
- ^ Jump up to: a b Climbing Groundsel (Senecio angulatus) by Weeds of Melbourne, July 10, 2019
- ^ Climbing Groundsel (Senecio angulatus) by Weeds of Melbourne, July 10, 2019
- ^ Senecio angulatus (Climbing Groundsel) by World of Succulents, August 30, 2013
- ^ Creeping or climbing groundsel (Senecio angulatus) by Eurobodalla Shire Council
- ^ Apparition de Senecio angulatus (Asteraceae) en Algérie by M. D. Miara, L. Boutabia, S. Telaïlia & E. Vela, 3 September 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2020
External links[]
Media related to Senecio angulatus at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Senecio angulatus at Wikispecies
- Senecio angulatus in the CalPhotos photo database, University of California, Berkeley
- "Herbarium record". Neotropical Herbarium Specimens. fieldmuseum.org. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
- Senecio
- Flora of Southern Africa
- Creepers of South Africa
- Garden plants
- Ornamental plants
- Vines
- Garden plants of Africa
- Flora naturalised in Australia
- Plants described in 1781
- Succulent plants