Species

Senecio angulatus

Etymology

Senecio: From the Latin senex 'old man' (probably referring to the bearded seeds)

Common Name(s)

Cape ivy

Authority

Senecio angulatus L.f.

Family

Asteraceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

SENANG

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Habitat

Terrestrial. A plant that usually grows in drier, more open sites, mostly by the sea coast. A plant that occurs in waste places and scrubland, especially near the sea (Webb et. al. 1988). A plant that occurs at forest margins and coastal areas.

Features

Glabrous, scandent, perennial herb, sometimes forming a dense tangled shrub up to 2m tall. Stems usu. sparingly branched. Leaves petiolate; petiole generally = lamina, not amplexicaul; lamina not lobed, ovate to deltoid, obtuse to acute, mucronate, obtuse to truncate at base, coarsely toothed with 1~3 convex-sided teeth on each side and lowermost teeth often distinctly larger, approx. 30~60 x 25~50mm; venation palmate-pinnate. Uppermost leaves becoming smaller, narrower, with fewer teeth or entire. Capitula in open terminal panicles. Supplementary bracts 4~7, linear to subulate, 1.5~2.5mm long. Involucral bracts 8~11, oblong, 5~6mm long. Ray florets 5; ligules yellow, 6~11mm long. Disc yellow. Achenes terete, with hairs on ribs, around 4mm long; pappus 5~7mm long. (-Webb et. al., 1988)

Similar Taxa

A vigorous, sprawling climber with glossy, fleshy leaves (Porteus 1993). The leaves are fleshy, with an angular shape and thick stems. The leaves are arrow shaped with 1 to 3 convex teeth on the sides. A plant that is a scrambling shrub. The flowers are conspicuously yellow. The flower is small, five-rayed and yellow.

Flowering

March, April, May, June, July, August

Flower Colours

Yellow

Year Naturalised

1940

Origin

South Africa

Reason For Introduction
Ornamental

Life Cycle Comments
Perennial.

Reproduction
A plant that spreads out rapidly by runners.

Seed
Seed is believed to be non-viable.

Dispersal
Seeds are spread by wind.

This page last updated on 28 May 2010