Delairea odorata
Common name
German ivy
Synonyms
Senecio mikanioides
Family
Asteraceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Lianes & Related Trailing Plants - Dicotyledons
NVS code
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.
DELODO
Habitat
Terrestrial. A coastal and lowland plant. Plants grow well in open environments but will still germinate in the shade of the forest canopy near to its margin. The plant occurs in scrub and forest margin communities. A plant of coastal communities and lowland forest margins, shrublands, rocklands, roadsides, quarries, farm hedges, wasteland and house gardens. Areas at risk from the plant are forest margins, coastal communities, swamps and damp areas. A plant of waste places, scrubland and forest margins, especially in coastal areas.
Features
Glabrous scrambling or scandent herb. Stems sometimes branched, up to 3m or longer. Leaves petiolate; petiole usu. = lamina, usu. with small auricles 2~13mm diam. at base, sometimes absent. Lamina de-lobed, ovate, deltoid or mainly orbicular, acute, usu. cordate at base, sometimes truncate, coarsely toothed with 2~5 flat or concave-sided teeth on each side, 25~100 x 20~100mm; venation palmate. Uppermost leaves becoming smaller. Capitula in dense terminal or axillary panicles. Supplementary bracts 2~4, linear, 1.5~3m long. Involucral bracts 8~9, oblong, 3~4mm long. Ray florets 0. Disc yellow, 5~7mm diam. Achenes terete, glabrous or with scattered hairs on ribs, 2~2.5mm long; pappus 4~5 mm long. (-Webb et. al., 1988)
Similar taxa
A scrambling or climbing herb with soft hairless ivy-like leaves and yellow daisy flowers, that have no ray florets (petal like flowers). At the base of most leaf stalks there is an ear-shaped appendage. The seeds are feathery. The leaves have concave-sided coarse teeth on each side (Webb et. al. 1988). The stems are up to 3m long.
Flowering
May, June, July, August, September, October
Flower colours
Yellow
Life cycle
Perennial. The plant can be spread by the transportation of stems. Seed is wind dispersed or disturbances in the environment.
Year naturalised
1870
Origin
South Africa
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Tolerances
The plant is semi-tolerant of shade. It has a wide tolerance of moisture levels.
Etymology
odorata: Scented