Senecio keniophytum
Encyclopedia
Atop of Mount Kenya
Senecio keniophytum is one of the endemic groundsel (Senecio
) found at high altitudes in Kenya
, such as the Afro-alpine zone of Mount Kenya
, but not one of the giant Dendrosenecio
that also live there.
Leaves and stems: A branching plant with tough densely white stems with leaves attached directly to them. Long and oblong leaves are a little less than 2 centimetre (0.78740157480315 in) long and 0.5 centimetre (0.196850393700787 in) wide with purplish bases. Leave edges have teeth and leaf surfaces have green and white hairs on the upper side and a dense matting of white hair and bald midrib on the lower side.
Flowers: The radiate flower heads are solitary sometimes two or three together and stand up and flower stalks cottony with hairs. Bract
s about 9 millimetre (0.354330708661417 in) to 12 millimetre (0.47244094488189 in) long and about 5 millimetre (0.196850393700787 in) diameter. A whorl of another set of eight to twelve bracts dark tipped and 5 millimetre (0.196850393700787 in) to 9 millimetre (0.354330708661417 in) long also with hairs. Twelve to twenty phyllaries also black tipped, 7 millimetre (0.275590551181102 in) to 11 millimetre (0.433070866141732 in) from densely hairy to no hair at all. Twelve to twenty bright yellow
ray florets, tubes 3 millimetre (0.118110236220472 in) long, rays 6 millimetre (0.236220472440945 in) x 3 millimetre (0.118110236220472 in) with four veins. A dull-yellow to brown disc floret, corolla 6 millimetre (0.236220472440945 in) long, all hairless and expanding from the middle.
Fruits and reproduction: Achene
s 3 millimetre (0.118110236220472 in) long, ribbed with no hairs. Pappus
5.5 millimetre (0.216535433070866 in) long.
Roots: A horizontal plant with stems that send shoots above and roots below.
Mount Kenya
Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian , Nelion and Point Lenana . Mount Kenya is located in central Kenya, just south of the equator, around north-northeast of the capital Nairobi...
Senecio keniophytum is one of the endemic groundsel (Senecio
Senecio
Senecio is a genus of the daisy family that includes ragworts and groundsels. The flower heads are normally rayed, completely yellow, and the heads are borne in branched clusters...
) found at high altitudes in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, such as the Afro-alpine zone of Mount Kenya
Mount Kenya
Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian , Nelion and Point Lenana . Mount Kenya is located in central Kenya, just south of the equator, around north-northeast of the capital Nairobi...
, but not one of the giant Dendrosenecio
Dendrosenecio
Dendrosenecio is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Asteraceae. It is a segregate of Senecio, in which it formed the subgenus Dendrosenecio...
that also live there.
Description
A creeping perennial whose flowering branches stand "tall" at 4 centimetres (1.6 in) to 13 centimetres (5.1 in) in a land where its relatives can be 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) tall, tough Senecio keniophytum manages to live in the same locales without dominating the landscape.Leaves and stems: A branching plant with tough densely white stems with leaves attached directly to them. Long and oblong leaves are a little less than 2 centimetre (0.78740157480315 in) long and 0.5 centimetre (0.196850393700787 in) wide with purplish bases. Leave edges have teeth and leaf surfaces have green and white hairs on the upper side and a dense matting of white hair and bald midrib on the lower side.
Flowers: The radiate flower heads are solitary sometimes two or three together and stand up and flower stalks cottony with hairs. Bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s about 9 millimetre (0.354330708661417 in) to 12 millimetre (0.47244094488189 in) long and about 5 millimetre (0.196850393700787 in) diameter. A whorl of another set of eight to twelve bracts dark tipped and 5 millimetre (0.196850393700787 in) to 9 millimetre (0.354330708661417 in) long also with hairs. Twelve to twenty phyllaries also black tipped, 7 millimetre (0.275590551181102 in) to 11 millimetre (0.433070866141732 in) from densely hairy to no hair at all. Twelve to twenty bright yellow
Yellow
Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
ray florets, tubes 3 millimetre (0.118110236220472 in) long, rays 6 millimetre (0.236220472440945 in) x 3 millimetre (0.118110236220472 in) with four veins. A dull-yellow to brown disc floret, corolla 6 millimetre (0.236220472440945 in) long, all hairless and expanding from the middle.
Fruits and reproduction: Achene
Achene
An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate and indehiscent...
s 3 millimetre (0.118110236220472 in) long, ribbed with no hairs. Pappus
Pappus (flower structure)
The pappus is the modified calyx, the part of an individual disk, ray or ligule floret surrounding the base of the corolla, in flower heads of the plant family Asteraceae. The pappus may be composed of bristles , awns, scales, or may be absent. In some species, the pappus is too small to see...
5.5 millimetre (0.216535433070866 in) long.
Roots: A horizontal plant with stems that send shoots above and roots below.