FoI
Radish-Leaved Senecio
Share Foto info
Radish-Leaved Senecio
ative Photo: Ramesh Kadyan
Common name: Radish-Leaved Senecio, Diverse Leaved Senecio • Nepali: मर्चा Marchaa
Botanical name: Jacobaea raphanifolia    Family: Asteraceae (Sunflower family)
Synonyms: Senecio raphanifolius, Senecio diversifolius Wall. ex DC. [Illeg.]

Radish-Leaved Senecio is a perennial herb with rhizomatous, and leafy stems. Flower-heads are numerous, arranged at branch-ends corymbs or compound corymbs. Flower-cluster-stalks are 1-3 cm, rather stout, with usually 2 or 3 linear bracteoles. Involucres broadly bell-shaped or hemispheric, 5-7 x 4-10 mm, calyculate. Ray florets are 12-16; flower tube about 3 mm; blade yellow, oblong, about 8 x 2-3 mm, 4-veined, blunt at tip and finely 3-toothed. Disk florets are many; florets yellow, about 5 mm, with about 2 mm tube and funnel-shaped limb; lobes oblong-lanceshaped, about 1 mm, apically pointed, papillose. Pappus is reddish brown, 4-5 mm, present in disk florets, scant and soon deciduous or absent in ray florets. Stems are solitary or sometimes 2 or 3, erect, 2-5 ft cm tall, simple or branching into synflorescence. Basal leaves are sometimes present at but usually withered and shriveled or shed by anthesis. Basal and lowest stem leaves are long stalked, leaf-stalk 5-8 cm, base expanded; blade inverted-lanceshaped, 15-30 x 2-5 cm, papery, above hairless, lyrate-pinnately cut with a large, oblong or elliptic-oblong, incised-toothed or lobulate at branch-ends lobe and 12-16 smaller, oblong, incised-toothed lateral lobes smaller toward base of leaf. Median stem leaves are stalkless; blade oblong, 10-15 x 2.5-4 cm, base eared; ear broad, toothed or lacerate, substem-clasping; blade pinnately cut or subpinnatisect with somewhat indistinct ovate-oblong at branch-ends lobe and 10-16 oblong, sharply toothed or lacerate-lobulate, spreading or somewhat ascending lateral lobes. Upper leaves smaller, oblong to oblong-lanceshaped, pinnately toothed or lobulate. Radish-Leaved Senecio is found in Eastern Himalayas, from Nepal to Bhutan, Assam, N. Burma, at altitudes of 2700-4400 m. Flowering: July-September.

Identification credit: Nongthombam Ullysess Photographed near Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh.

• Is this flower misidentified? If yes,