Senecio glastifolius L.f.
holly-leaved senecio
Erect, glabrous, perennial herb, becoming distinctly woody toward base, up to c. 1 m tall. Stems branched above to form infl. and branched below in older plants. Lvs apetiolate, not lobed, ± oblong or narrow-elliptic to obovate-elliptic, serrate, acute, amplexicaul and often coarsely toothed at base, usually somewhat decurrent, 3-8-(11) × 1-2.5-(3.5) cm; venation pinnate. Upper cauline lvs becoming smaller, ovate-oblong or lanceolate, and less distinctly toothed except at base. Capitula many, in loose corymbs. Supplementary bracts (13)-16-23, lanceolate to subulate, 3-5.5 mm long. Involucral bracts 19-23, narrow-oblong to linear, 6-9 mm long. Ray florets 12-22; ligules purple, mauve-pink or pale to deep pink, (10)-12-25 mm long. Disc yellow. Achenes terete, c. 2.5 mm long, those of ray florets glabrous, those of disc florets hairy; pappus 7-9 mm long.
N.: Gisborne City, Havelock North, Mana Id, vicinity of Wellington City; S.: Motueka (Nelson), Christchurch.
South Africa 1969
Waste places, hillsides, pasture, scrubland and riverbeds.
FL Sep-Nov.
Holly-leaved senecio is occasionally cultivated and is now locally well-established in the wild. In South African Floras the ligule colour is given as mauve or purple, but N.Z. collections for which ligule colour is recorded are mauve-pink or pale to deep pink.
