Senecio scandens Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don

Family Description

Annual, biennial or perennial herbs, sometimes shrubs, rarely trees, tissues sometimes containing milky sap, glabrous, pubescent, tomentose, spinous or variously sessile- or stipitate-glandular. Leaves alternate or sometimes opposite, exstipulate (but sometimes with stipuliform appendages), entire, toothed, lobed or variously dissected. Individual flowers usually numerous, aggregated and ± sessile (briefly immersed to very shortly stipitate) on a common receptacle and surrunded by an involucre of 1-many series of phyllaries (involucral bracts),the whole comprising a capitulum; phyllaries free, rarely connate; capitula solitary to very many, rarely agreegrated into secondary capitulum-like glomerules.Receptable sometimes bearing paleae (scales), hairs or bristles.Flowers (florets)epigynous, bisexual, female, m ale(at least functionally so) or neuter (sterile). Calyx absent, often replaced on apex of ovary by a pappus of 1 or more series of bristles and / orscales. Corolla gamopetalous, tabular throughout or dilated or 1(-2)-lipped above,variously truncate or 1-5-toothed at apex (appices); rarely corolla absent. Stamens (1-)5, epipetalous, filaments free anthers laterally connate into a cylinder around style (free in one species). Ovary inferior, 1-celled with one basal ovule; style usually divided above into two branches, sometimes entire on male flowers, emerging through anther cylinder, first collecting and exposing pollen,later exposing stigmatic surfaces if bisexual. Fruit an achene (cypsela) usually bearing a persistent or deciduous pappus; pappus sessile or borne on a beak(rostrum).

Genus Description

Erect or scrambling, rarely decumbent, perennial or annual herbs; stems usually leafy. Leaves alternate, simple or lyrately, pinnately or palmately divided, radical leaves commonly absent at flowering time. Capitula few to numerous, in simple or compound corymbs, radiate or discoid, erect or crenuous. Involucres calyculate, hemispherical, campanulate or cylinderical; phyllaries 5-20, usually free, ± 1-seriate, margins scarious. Receptacle flat, naked. Ray flowers up to 20, ligules yellow, usually conspicious, sometimes small. Disc flowers few to many, yellow, tubular-campanulate; corollas 4-5-toothed; anthers bases sagittate but without tail of sterile cells beneath locules; styles branches truncate or convex with obtuse marginal papillae, without a central tuft of longer papillae. Achenes oblong, ribbed, glabrous or pubescent. Pappus of capillary bristels, uniform or sometimes with apically hooked hairs.

Species description

Herbaceous perennial; stems scrambling, strongly flexuose, 1.5-5m, sparsely pubescent at first. Leaves ovate or triangular, 4-13 x 1.5-5cm, subentire, denticulate or pinnatifid with 1-6 pairs of lateral lobes, acuminate, truncate at base or slightly cordate or attenuate, glabrous on both surfaces; petiole 1-2cm. Capitula radiate, in loose divaricate corymbs; involucres c 5mm diameterp; phyllaries 10, oblong, 6.5 x 1.5mm, glabrous. Ray flowers 8-10; corolla tube 3mm; ligule 5.5 x 1.2mm. Disc flowers numerous; corolla 5.5-7mm, widening in upper ⅔. Achenes oblong, 2.5-3mm, pubescent; pappus 5.5-7mm, white.