Senecio Archives - enjoysucculents

Curio sulcicalyx

This interesting little plant from southern Namibia and Namaqualand (as far south as Bitterfontein), comes under a variety of names: Senecio sulcicalyx, S. klinghardtianus, S. iosensis, Othonna/Senecio/Kleinia pusilla (pusillus).
It has a preference for rock crevices.

A great part of the plant is underground with rhizomes and tuberous roots.
The branches are up to 5 cm long. The leaves are 1 -2.5 cm long and 0.7-1.2 cm wide, sometimes shortly hairy.
Although the flower heads are usually white to mauve, in certain forms they are yellow; they appear from February to July.

Curio (Senecio) citriformis

This species was described in 1956 from material collected at Donkerkloof northwest of Montagu. For whatever reason, modern references place the plants at least a hundred kms to the East in the Little Karoo, either at the foothills of the Klein Swartberge or between Barrydale and Ladismith. *
They are found on rocky flats and outcrops.

Their 5-10 cm long fleshy rootstocks branch at soil level or below and thereby form small cushions.
The leaves are up to 3 cm long and about 1 cm thick and wide, spindle-shaped or almost spherical with tapered ends like a lemon (hence the name). They have a bluish grey waxy cover and are decorated with around 40 longitudinal clear stripes.
The 10-15 cm tall peduncles bear 1-3 creamy white flowerheads about 0.5 cm in diameter and appear in Jan. – March.

*All pictures apart from the first one, were taken a week ago about a km northeast of Montagu.

To Somaliland and back

Since I returned from Somaliland last week, I have been pondering how to evaluate the trip.
On the one hand it was a once in a life time experience for me and I’m truly grateful to have been able to do this. I saw many plants that were either new to me or I had not seen for many years. Seeing what people in a country like that have to cope with, also helps in appreciating one’s own situation.
On the other hand we ran into a lot of troubles that made the trip less pleasant and useful than expected. Sometimes the permits we had for travelling within the country were not sufficient; at other times the locals were very suspicious of what we were doing and did not want us to be there. In the end we even decided to cut the visit short and return two days earlier to Ethiopia.
Usually one of the main purposes for a trip like this is making as many pictures as is feasible. Unfortunately the camera I use as a rule (Nikon D700), decided to turn a lot of my pictures completely black. So, although the image took up memory space on the card, it showed only black pixels. Fortunately I brought a spare body (D70) with me, so not al was lost, but calling the problem annoying would be somewhat of an understatement!
In spite of all this, I came home with a number of interesting pictures, some of which will appear on this blog in due course.

To wet your appetite I add some pictures of
Senecio pendulus, Aloe grisea, Dorstenia foetida and Dracaena schizantha resp.

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Senecio longiflorus ssp. longiflorus

With its upright succulent stems this plant may easily be mistaken for a Euphorbia. It is widely distributed from Malawi and Zambia to South Africa, usually growing among rocks or under bushes.
In general the plants become 60-90 cm tall, but they may as much as 1.8 m. The stems are round at first, but later become somewhat angular or even furrowed. They are green, sometimes with a purple tinge, and decorated with groups of three dark green or purple lines. The leaves are rather fleshy but short-lived.
When in seed, the shrubs are a striking sight with their tufts of long white hairs.

Senecio acaulis (2)

Senecio (Curio) acaulis. Part 1

These plants may be up to 30 cm tall but are usually much lower.
The leaves are up to 10 cm long and cylindrical (in the dry season they become flattened). Apparently they are tasty to some animals, as one often sees them with the upper half chewed off.
The flowers appear in Oct. Nov. and are large and showy (up to over 2 cm in diameter).
The species occurs on rocky outcrops from the Ceres Karoo to the Kouga Mts.

Senecio (Curio) articulatus

In 1997 Senecio articulatus was placed in the genus Curio, together with a number of other succulent Senecios. As the changes were published in a not very well known journal, they have not been generally accepted (yet?).
Poor old S. articulatus must be in an identity crisis by now, because since it was named first, it has been placed in four different genera (Cacalia, Kleinia, Senecio and now Curio).
Maybe we should just stick to the beautifully descriptive Afrikaans name Worsies (sausages).
The species is widespread from Montagu to Uitenhage, on rocky slopes, usually in (partial) shade.

Curio radicans

A well known species in cultivation, but also widely distributed in nature (from southern Namibia to the Eastern Cape).
What is not so well known yet is the genus name Curio which apparently we are now supposed to use. So beware, when the taxonomy police comes round next time, you will need a good excuse if you still use the name Senecio (or even Kleinia) radicans.

Whatever you want to call it, I hope you will enjoy the following pictures.

Senecio abbreviatus

See how these plants change in shape and colour through the seasons.
All pictures taken on farm Aasvoelbos , northwest of Matjiesfontein.

11 Jan. 2006

12 Jan. 2007

11 April 2007

10 July 2007

2 Aug. 2007

3 Aug. 2007

Senecio scaposus

This species is found sporadically from Montagu eastwards to the Eastern Cape, usually on rocky outcrops. The leaves are covered in silvery grey felt, protecting the plant against desiccation.
The first picture was taken southwest of Ladismith, the second one northwest of the same town and the last one at the foot the Rooiberg near Calitzdorp.