Botanical art
Common names
Superb grounsel
Large-flower Groundsel
Superb Groundsel
Etymology
Senecio from the Latin 'senex' meaning an old man; referring to the white pappus attached to the seed. Megaglossus from the Latin 'mega' meaning large and 'glossus' meaning tongue; alluding to the shape of the floret.
Distribution and status
Endemic to South Australia and found in the Flinders Ranges, Mid-North and the Marne River, growing on rocky gorges and valley slopes in tall open shrubland, woodland, and open-woodland on variable soils of loam and clay loams. Native. Very rare in South Australia.
Herbarium regions: Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray
NRM regions: Northern and Yorke, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Erect but much branched perennial shrub to 80 cm high. Leaves somewhat overlapping, obovate to oblong-lanceolate to 70 mm long and 25 mm wide, bluish green with a waxy layer and slightly serrated margins. Flower-head in a cluster with 1-3 large bright yellow daisy flowers. Flowering between August and November. Fruits are large daisy-head with exposed yellowish pappus. Seeds are brown oblong seed to 7 mm long and 3 mm wide, covered in dense short hairs and with a few striation and persistent yellowish pappus. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between September and December. Collect heads that are large and fluffy. Either pick off the whole heads or use your finger and pull off the seeds from the head. Mature seeds will come off easily. Place the heads in a tray for a week to dry. No cleaning is required if only pure seeds are collected. If heads are collected, then rub the heads gently with your hands to dislodge the seeds. Viable seeds will be fat and hard. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. From one collection, the seed viability was high, at 100%.
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BGA MSB | 17,600 (366.43 g) 16,500 (306 g) | 250 | 4-Nov-2005 | TEE1 Eyre Peninsula | 19-Sep-2008 | +5°C, -18°C |