Flat-leaved senecio | |
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In the Karoo Desert Botanical Garden, Western Cape, South Africa | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Genus: | Curio |
Species: | C. ficoides |
Binomial name | |
Curio ficoides Curio ficoides (L.) & P.V.Heath (1999) | |
Synonyms | |
Cacalia ficoidesL. Contents |
Curio ficoides, syn. Senecio ficoides, also known as skyscraper senecio, Mount Everest senecio or flat-leaved senecio, is a species of succulent plant, in the genus Curio (Asteraceae), indigenous to South Africa.
A succulent, spreading shrub, it reaches over 1 meter in height. The brittle, succulent branches lose their leaves lower down. The leaves are blue-green to blue grey, pruinose, succulent, erect, tapering and flattened laterally, with translucent lines down both sides. The flower capitula have no ray florets, and appear on a terminal, branching inflorescence.
This is a polyploid species (2n=100). However, its closest relatives are Curio repens , Curio radicans , Curio herreanus , and Curio hallianus , which have a variable number of chromosomes.
It is easily confused with Curio talinoides , which has a similar growth habit. However, the leaves of C. talinoides are rounded-cylindrical in cross section. In contrast, the leaves of C. ficoides are usually somewhat knife-like, flattened laterally. [3]
Media related to Curio ficoides at Wikimedia Commons