Senecio carnosulus
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledonous composites
Flower colours
Yellow
Detailed description
Annual or short-lived perennial, somewhat fleshy herb. Stems prostrate, semi-erect to erect, often spreading laterall from some distance, particularly in well established plants. Leaves glabrous or glabrescent, if the latter then with scattered hairs on midrib and lamina margins (particularly near base); apetiolate, narrow-oblong to elliptic or obovate, amplexicaul, usually pinnatifid with 1–3 broad, few-toothed segments on either side, sometimes not lobed but serrate with 1–8 teeth on each side, 20–90 × 5–45 mm; uppermost leaves smaller, narrower, and often less divided. Supplementary bracts 4–10, 1–4 mm long. Involucral bracts 11–16, glabrous, 5–9 mm long. Capitulum: ray florets (0)–7–11; ligules yellow, 1–4 mm; disc yellow, 4–8 mm diameter. Cypsela 2.8–3.5 mm long, grey-black, usually more or less evenly covered in dense hairs (sometimes outer most cypsela almost glabrous), slightly narrowed to apex.
Similar taxa
Closely allied to Senecio lautus Willd., and S. sterquilinus Ornduff. It differs from S. lautus by its larger stature, and much more stocky, stout, succulent stems and foliage, broader leaf segments, longer involucral bracts, wider discs and shorter rays. Senecio sterquilinus is quite similar but it is usually an even larger plant, with a strictly erect rather than prostrate to semi-erect or erect growth habit, typically with more divided leaves and 13–24 rather than 10–16 involucral bracts. Senecio carnosulus has 2n = 80 chromosomes rather than 2n = 40 seen in S. lautus and S. sterquilinus.
Distribution
Endemic. South Island only. Banks Peninsula then from the Otago Peninsula south and across to Stewart Island/Rakiura.
Habitat
Coastal on rock stacks, cliff faces, amongst boulders and on cobble/ coarse gravel beaches. Sometimes on consolidated sand or clay banks. Often in association with sea bird roosts and nesting sites.
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | At Risk – Declining | Qualifiers: Sp, DPS, DPT, EF
Threats
An apparently naturally uncommon, sporadically occurring species. At times it can be locally common but there is evidence to suggest it has declined from parts of its range, particularly around the Otago Peninsula although reasons for decline are not well understood.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Senecio lautus var. carnosulus Kirk, Senecio lautus subsp. carnosulus (Kirk) Ornd., Senecio lautus var. alpha Cheeseman
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
November–February
Fruiting
December–March
Propagation technique
Easy from fresh seed. Best treated as an annual. It can become invasive.
Other information
Etymology
senecio: From the Latin senex ‘old man’ (probably referring to the bearded seeds)
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.
SENCAR
Chromosome number
2n = 80
Previous conservation statuses
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | At Risk – Declining | Qualifiers: DP, EF, Sp
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: Sp
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Sparse
Regional conservation statuses
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Otago conservation status information is sourced from the “Regional conservation status of indigenous vascular plants in Otago” Jarvie S et al. (2024) report.
Otago: 2024 | Threatened – Regionally Vulnerable | Qualifiers: CI, DPR, DPS, DPT, EF, NStr, PF, RR, Sp, TL
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Webb CJ, Sykes WR, Garnock-Jones PJ. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV. Naturalised Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons. Botany Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Christchurch, NZ. 1365 p.
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 1 November 2008. Description based on Webb et al. (1988).
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Senecio carnosulus Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/senecio-carnosulus/ (Date website was queried)