Senecio
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Senecio".

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Senecio
Senecio vulgaris, an illustration from 1885.
Senecio vulgaris, an illustration from 1885.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Subclass: Asteridae
(unranked) Euasterids II
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Senecioneae
Genus: Senecio
L.
Species

Some 1500, see text
Synonyms

Dendrosenecio
Jacobaea L.
Culcitium Humb. & Bonpl

Senecio is a genus of the daisy family (Asteraceae) that includes ragworts and groundsels. The flower heads are normally rayed, completely yellow, and the heads are borne in branched clusters. Though of late the genus has been reviewed and split up, it still contains a vast number of species (about 1,500) of extremely wide form including leaf succulents, stem and tuber succulents, annuals, perennials, aquatic forms, climbers, shrubs and small trees. Some species produce natural pesticides (especially alkaloids) to deter or even kill animals that would eat them.

Senecio species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species - see list of Lepidoptera that feed on Senecio.

Contents

Common names

Selected species

S. aureus Golden Ragwort
S. aureus Golden Ragwort
S. barbertonicus Succulent Bush Senecio
S. barbertonicus Succulent Bush Senecio
S. haworthii Woolly Senecio
S. haworthii Woolly Senecio

Between its own cross species breeding and the horticulturalists, Senecio is perhaps the largest genus in the family Asteraceae.[3] A larger species list is given in List of Senecio species.

Formerly in Senecio


Nomina Nova

I have every day been figuring to myself the occupations of my pupil Solander, now putting his collection in order, having first arranged and numbered his plants, in parcels, according to the places where they were gathered, and then written upon each specimen its native country and appropriate number. I then fancied him throwing the whole into classes, putting aside and naming such as were already known; ranging others under known genera, with specific differences, and distinguishing by new names and definitions such as formed new genera, with their species. Thus, thought I, the world will be delighted and benefited by all these discoveries; and the foundations of true science will be strengthened, so as to endure through all generations!
Extract from letter written by Linnaeus to John Ellis[4]

Senecio is or was, depending on the authority cited, the genus containing the most species within the family (Asteraceae) of flowering plants that contains the most genus. The cataloging of living things started centuries ago as a science of systematic naming based on a unique description of the living thing that was being named. Throughout the centuries since then, the science of naming has had plenty of problems including the lack of enough descriptive words (many species are named after people, for instance), mix-ups in the collected samples, plants and animals which propagate themselves in ways not easily managed by a catalog which assumed such things were stagnant. There has been several attempts to rename and reorganize these things more sensibly according to the new information provided by more modern technology and with the understanding that the plant and animal kingdoms are probably not going to be stable; that is exactly in a year the same way as they are now. Meanwhile, as the science of naming catches up to technology, knowing all of the names a species has had, and has been published as, is a part of finding the information about them; no matter who the authority is.[4]

Probable synonyms:

Jacobaea vulgaris, Common ragwort
Jacobaea vulgaris, Common ragwort
Kleinia neriifolia, Verode
Kleinia neriifolia, Verode
Tephroseris palustris, Swamp Ragwort
Tephroseris palustris, Swamp Ragwort


References

  1. ^ Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem. Details for: Senecio (HTML). Euro+Med PlantBase. Freie Universität Berlin. Retrieved on 2008-01-27.
  2. ^ Flora of North America. Chinese Plant Names Senecio L. (HTML). Chinese Plant Names. Retrieved on 2008-02-27.
  3. ^ Bailey, Liberty Hyde (1917). "Senecio", The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture: A Discussion for the Amateur, and ... (HTML), 6, The Macmillan Company, 3639. 
  4. ^ a b Edgar, E.; H. E. Connor (1983). "Nomina Nova III, 1977-1982" (PDF). New Zealand Journal of Botany 21: 421-441. 0028-825X/83/2104-0421. Retrieved on 2008-04-10. 
  5. ^ Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) (2007-05-04). Genus: Senecio L. (HTML). Taxonomy for Plants. USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program, National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved on 2008-02-27.

External links

Wikiversity
Wikiversity has bloom time data for Senecio vulgaris on the Bloom Clock
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