Flowers. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Flowers and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, north of Wilcannia, NSW

Flowering plant. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Shrub. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, north of Wilcannia, NSW

Common Name

Shrubby Groundsel, Branching Groundsel

Family

Asteraceae

Notes

Shrub to 2m tall.  Leaves somewhat fleshy to leathery, alternating up the stems, sometimes with basal lobes, barely stem clasping, to 10cm long, flat, hairy at least when young, becoming hairless, edges entire to toothed or lobed, with basal lobes.  Flowers green with yellow florets, and 0 petals.  Flower heads in groups of 5-40 at the tops of the stems.  Endangered Vic. Vulnerable Vic as Senecio sp. aff. cunninghamii (North West)

Differs from Senecio cunninghamii in that the length/width ratio of mid-stem leaves is less than 10, the leaves are never rolled downwards, and the number of florets per flower head are 10-18.

Short description and photo (as Senecio sp. aff. cunninghamii) in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 675

PlantNET description:   http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Senecio~lanibracteus

Key (pages 68-69), description (pages 78, 80) line drawing of leaf (Fig. 1e page 71), and photo of dried specimen (Fig. 6 page 79) in Thompson, I.R., (2004) Taxonomic studies of Australian Senecio (Asteraceae): 2. The shrubby, discoid species and the allied radiate species Senecio linearifolius. Muelleria 20: 67-110