Creeping Groundsel

Description:

Climbing succulent perennial from the family Asteraceae of the genus Senecio; a native of South Africa. Described as scrambling and as a twining herb whose form is a dense tangled shrub 2 metres (6.6 ft) tall or a climber to 6 metres (20 ft) high, that can become an aggressive weed once established smothering the existing native vegetation both in the ground layer and canopy and altering the light climate in the invaded community and sometimes suppressing the regeneration of native plants. Stems and leaves: Succulent, pale green stems, often variegated with pale yellow green and purple, slightly angular (not upright) and usually sparingly branched. Neither stems nor leaves are hairy. Thick, glossy, fleshy, coarsely toothed leaves, with one to three teeth each side and bluntly lobed, with upper leaves becoming smaller with fewer teeth or none at all. Leaves are 3.7 centimetres (1.5 in) to 22 centimetres (8.7 in) long and 1 centimetre (0.39 in) to 14 centimetres (5.5 in) wide and occur in 1-4 pairs. Leaf stalks are 1 centimetre (0.39 in) to 4 centimetres (1.6 in) long. The leaves have stalks or stems which embrace the larger leaf surface which is not lobed, oval to triangularly shaped or very blunt to pointed at the tips and blunt to flat at the base. The leaves have a frosted look from a powdery coating on the lower side. Senecio angulatus will climb if suitable support available. Flowers: Senecio angulatus produces numerous flowers in open clusters at the end of its branches or stems. Strongly scented flowers on an elongated stem that continue to open in succession from the base up as the stem continues to grow; the mass of clusters ending more flat at the top than pyramid-like, 4 centimetres (1.6 in) to 8 centimetres (3.1 in) in diameter. Often the cluster droops with the flower heads at the end of the cluster turning upwards. Flower stalks are mostly hairless or with some short hairs, 6.5 millimetres (0.26 in) to 10.5 millimetres (0.41 in) long. Flower heads are attached to flower stalk by fine pointed 8-11 bracts 5 millimetres (0.20 in) to 6 millimetres (0.24 in) which are surrounded by 4-7 pale green and sometimes purple tinged at the base supplementary bracts, 1.5 millimetres to 2.5 millimetres which make a cup shape around the base of the involucre. Each stalk is capable of producing 10-15 disc florets. Flower-heads are radiate and urn-shaped, ray florets are nearly always absent yellow ligule when they occur. The corolla has a yellow disc surrounded by 4–6 dull golden yellow disc florets 5.5 millimetres (0.22 in) to 9.5 millimetres (0.37 in) long with hairless tubes, a slight expansion below the middle and lobes 1.3 millimetres to 2 millimetres wide. Flowering from April to May in Africa and May to July in New Zealand; S. angulatus flower heads have rays (that look like petals) that make it more daisy-like. Fruits and reproduction: Creeping groundsel is easily dispersed by wind-blown seed, stem fragments, and dumped garden waste. Achenes are 3 millimetres to 4 millimetres long, ribbed or grooved with short hairs in the grooves and a tapering cylindrical shape. The parachute like hairs, the pappus, are 5 millimetres to 7 millimetres long.