Dendrosenecio elgonensis | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Genus: | Dendrosenecio |
Species: | D. elgonensis |
Binomial name | |
Dendrosenecio elgonensis | |
Synonyms | |
Sources: [2] |
Dendrosenecio elgonensis is one of the giant groundsel of East Africa; this one is endemic to Mount Elgon. They used to be considered part of the genus Senecio but recently have been reclassified to their own genus, Dendrosenecio .
Dendrosenecio elgonensis can grow to 7 meters tall, with a trunk to 30 centimeters in diameter and pith 2.5 to 3 centimeters in diameter. D. elgonensis generally keeps its stem cloaked with its withered and decaying foliage (or with retained leaf-bases after fire) but eventually loses them as bark develops. "Periodic reproduction yields sparsely branched, spreading plants that rarely exceed five reproductive cycles." [3]
Leaf surfaces are elliptic or heart-shaped, 97 centimeters long and 32 centimeters wide. The lower portion of the leaves are hairless except for along the mid-vein. [3]
Flower heads are presented horizontally. 11 to 13, 24 millimeter long ray florets and 40 to 70 disc florets. [3]
Found on the slopes of Mount Elgon between 2750 and 4200 meters. [3]
The names for the giant groundsels have become somewhat confusing:
Senecio is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) that includes ragworts and groundsels.
Dendrosenecio keniodendron or giant groundsel is a species of the genus Dendrosenecio of the large family Asteraceae and is one of the several species of giant groundsels endemic to the high altitudes of the Afrotropics, including Dendrosenecio johnstonii (Senecio battiscombei) occurring on Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, and the Aberdare Mountains, Dendrosenecio keniensis occurring the lower alpine zone of Mount Kenya and D. keniodendron occurring in higher and drier sites on Mount Kenya. The giant rosette plants, sometimes 6 metres (20 ft) tall, often grow in even-sized stands, with different understory communities under different-aged stands.
Dendrosenecio keniensis is one of the giant groundsels endemic the higher altitudes of Mount Kenya. It is in the family Asteraceae and the genus Dendrosenecio. Dendrosenecio keniodendron occurs the upper alpine zone of Mount Kenya and D. keniensis in the wetter areas of the lower alpine or the moorlands.
Atop of Mount Kenya Senecio keniophytum is one of the endemic groundsel (Senecio) found at high altitudes in Kenya, such as the Afro-alpine zone of Mount Kenya, but not one of the giant Dendrosenecio that also live there.
Dendrosenecio battiscombei is one of the giant groundsels that lives on the slopes of Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Range. Like Dendrosenecio adnivalis on the Ruwenzori Mountains and the Virunga Mountains, Dendrosenecio battiscombei grows in the lower wetter areas of the Afro-Alpine zone.
Kleinia is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family. Kleinia contains around 50 species and is distributed from Morocco and the Canary Islands, throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, South Asia and Indochina. It is closely related to the genus Senecio but is distinguished primarily by having succulent stems or leaves.
Dendrosenecio is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family. It is a segregate of Senecio, in which it formed the subgenus Dendrosenecio. Its members, the giant groundsels, are native to the higher altitude zones of ten mountain groups in equatorial East Africa, where they form a conspicuous element of the flora.
Senecio transmarinus is a sometimes straggling member of the flowering plants Asteraceae and species of the genus Senecio a perennial herb that grows on the higher elevations of the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda. It is also found in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The inflorescences consist of several flowerheads with large yellow ray florets.
Senecio mattirolii is a perennial herb of the family Asteraceae endemic to altitudes between 3600–4500 meters on the slopes of the mountains of the Ruwenzori Mountains in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and an atypical species of the genus Senecio because it has purple flowers.
Dendrosenecio meruensis is one of the East African giant groundsel, this one is endemic to the slopes of Mount Meru. Once they were considered to be of the genus Senecio but since then have been reclassified into their own genus Dendrosenecio.
Dendrosenecio cheranganiensis is one of the East African giant groundsel, this one endemic to the Cherangani Hills. Once it was a genus of Senecio but has recently been reclassified as a Dendrosenecio.
Dendrosenecio erici-rosenii one of the East African giant groundsel and this one can be found on the Rwenzori Mountains, Virunga Mountains and the Mitumba Mountains. It is a species of the genus Dendrosenecio and is also a collection of reclassified Senecio species.
Dendrosenecio kilimanjari is a giant groundsel found on Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, below 4,000 metres (13,000 ft).
Dendrosenecio johnstonii, formerly Senecio johnstonii, is a species of giant groundsel found in the middle altitudes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. A recent botanical reclassification split off some species formerly in Senecio, putting the giant groundsels in the new genus Dendrosenecio. It also redefined the former species Senecio cottonii, as a subspecies of Dendrosenecio johnstonii. Both genera are in the family Asteraceae. The giant grounsels of the genus Dendrosenecio evolved, about a million years ago, from a Senecio that established itself on Mount Kilimanjaro, with those that survived adapting into Dendrosenecio kilimanjari. As it moved down the mountain, the adaptations necessary for the new environment created the new species, Dendrosenecio johnstonii. Various subspecies are found on other mountains.
Dendrosenecio adnivalis is one of the giant groundsels of the mountains of Eastern Africa. D. adnivalis grows on the Rwenzori Mountains and on the Virunga Mountains in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Dendrosenecio brassiciformis is a species of East African giant groundsel. It is endemic to the slopes of Aberdare Range and bearing fruit but once, and dying after. Once considered to be of the genus Senecio but since have been reclassified into their own genus Dendrosenecio.
Cineraria deltoidea is a perennial flowering plant of the family Asteraceae and the genus Cineraria which is also the closest known relative of the giant Dendrosenecio of East Africa.
Caputia medley-woodii is a species of flowering plant in the sunflower family, Asteraceae.
Senecio nevadensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.
Dactylorhiza elata, the robust marsh orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the family Orchidaceae, native to the western Mediterranean region.