Senecio mattirolii

Senecio mattirolii is a perennial herb of the family Asteraceae endemic to altitudes between 3600–4500 meters (12,000 - 15,000 feet)[2] on the slopes of the mountains of the Ruwenzori Mountains in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and an atypical species of the genus Senecio because it has purple flowers.[3]

Senecio mattirolii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Senecio
Species:
S. mattirolii
Binomial name
Senecio mattirolii

Standing straight and tall [2] and common in the open, stony slopes on the mountains it lives on,[3] Senecio mattirolii achieves heights of 10[2] to 50 centimeters[3] (4 to 20 inches).

Stems and leaves
A well-developed, above ground, reddish colored stem.[2] The leaves are lobed[3] and have a 'crisped' appearance by being irregularly curled or twisted. Leaves closer to the base are often reddish and attached directly to the stem with stalks from 2 to 5 centimeters (1 to 2 inches) long. Leaves have an oblong shape sometimes spatulate tipped, 5 to 13 centimeters (2 to 5 inches) long and 1 - 2 centimeters wide. Farther up the stem, the leaves are smaller 2 to 5 centimeters (1 to 2 inches) long and 3 to 10 millimeters wide.[2]
Flowers
Flower heads have a flat circular shape and are held straight up by the plant. They appear in clusters of 2 to 6 which grow upward from various points on the main stem to approximately the same height with the outer flowers opening first. The phyllaries are purplish. There are no ray florets and the disc florets are purple or mauve colored.
Fruits
Achenes 3 to 4 millimeters long, ribbed and not hairy. Pappus 6 to 7 millimeters long.[2]

References
  1. "Senecio mattirolii Chiov. record n° 98741" (PDF). African Plants Database. South African National Biodiversity Institute, the Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève and Tela Botanica. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  2. Aluka. "Entry for Senecio mattirolii Chiov. [family COMPOSITAE]". African Plants. Ithaka Harbors, Inc. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
  3. H. Peter Linder and Berit Gehrke (2 March 2006). "Common plants of the Rwenzori, particularly the upper zones" (PDF). Institute for Systematic Botany, University of Zurich. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-30. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
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