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• Senecio suaveolens

Senecio suaveolens — false Indian-plantain

Facts

False Indian-plantain is listed as endangered in Connecticut, which hosts the one remaining New England population, though it is more common in the Midwest. It was rediscovered in 1996 after being thought extirpated from New England. It inhabits high-energy river banks. Current threats include invasive plants, deer browsing and habitat loss.

Habitat

Forests, shores of rivers or lakes

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Bases of bract appendages

  NA

  Bract color

  the bracts are not colored or tinged with with pink, red or purple

  Bract cycle number

  there is one main cycle of bracts

  Bract outer side hair type

  the bracts are not hairy on their outer surface

  Bract outer side hairs

  the bracts are not hairy on their outer surfaces

  Bract separation

  the bracts appear completely unconnected to one another on all flower heads

  Bract shape

  • the main bracts are lanceolate (widest above the base, then taper narrowly towards the tip)
  • the main bracts are linear (long and very narrow)
  • the main bracts are oblong (roughly rectangular but rounded at the ends)

  Bract spines

  the bracts have no spines

  Bract texture

  • the bracts appear leathery or hardened
  • the bracts have a similar texture to a leaf

  Bract tip color

  the tips are a different color from the center of the bract

  Bract tip extension appearance

  NA

  Bract tip extension edge

  NA

  Bract tip orientation

  • the bracts are pressed against the plant, or spreading out at the tips
  • the tips of the bracts curve outwards and downwards from the plant

  Bracts

  there are at least two distinct forms of bracts in different cycles

  Disk flower color

  • other
  • pink to red
  • white

  Disk flower lobe number

  5

  Disk flower number

  • 11-20
  • 21-50

  Disk flower reproductive parts

  the disk flower has both pollen- and seed-producing parts

  Disk flower shape

  the disk flower is tube-shaped (cylindrical), or gradually widening like a funnel

  Flower head number

  • each flowering stem has four or more flower heads on it
  • each flowering stem has only one to three flower heads on it

  Flower head platform

  the base has no bristles or papery scales

  Flower head platform surface

  NA

  Flower head position

  some or all the flower heads are grouped in clusters of two or more

  Flower head profile

  • the disk is flat or nearly flat across the top
  • the disk is rounded across the top

  Flower head shape

  • the flower head is hemispherical (like the bottom half of a sphere)
  • the sides of the flower head are roughly parallel, like a cylinder

  Flower head width

  7–11 mm

  Flower type in flower heads

  the flower head has disk flowers only, and lacks the strap-shaped flowers

  Height of flower head base

  11–14 mm

  Inflorescence branching (Solidago)

  NA

  Inflorescence shape

  • the flower heads grow in clusters from the axils of the branches or leaves
  • the inflorescence is flat-topped in profile

  Inflorescence stem

  the stem of the inflorescence is not hairy

  Number of bracts at flower head base

  10–17

  Ovary cross-section

  the ovary has five or more corners in cross-section

  Ovary hair type

  the ovary has no hairs on it

  Ovary hairs

  the ovary has no hairs on it

  Ovary lines or ribs

  • there are seven to nine ribs visible on the ovary
  • there are ten or more ribs visible on the ovary

  Ovary profile

  in profile, the ovary is oblong (roughly rectangular but rounded at the ends)

  Peduncle hair type

  NA

  Peduncle hairs

  the peduncles have no hairs

  Ray flower color

  NA

  Ray flower reproductive parts

  NA

  Ray flowers

  NA

  Ray length

  0 mm

  Reproductive system

  some of the flowers on the plant have only carpels or stamens, while others have both carpels and stamens

  Scale tip

  NA

  Smaller bracts at base of bracts

  there is no smaller, outer cycle of bracts

  Style branch number

  the style has two branches

  Style branches

  the style branch is wider at the tip and has a flattened end, or the style branches are wider at the tips and have flattened ends

  Width of flower head base

  5–8 mm

• Fruits or seeds

  Number of pappus parts

  11 or more

  Ovary length in developed fruit

  5–9 mm

  Seed hair tuft color

  the pappus hairs are white or off-white

  Seed hair tuft details

  the pappus hairs are hooked or barbed

  Seed hair tuft length

  6–7 mm

  Seed hairs uniform

  all the pappus hairs are approximately the same length

  Seed tuft type

  the pappus is made of very fine hairs or bristles

  Top of disk flower ovary

  NA

  Tuft or plume on fruit

  at least a part of the plume is made up of fine bristles

• Glands or sap

  Sap

  the sap is clear and watery

• Growth form

  Growth form

  the plant has one or more free-standing stems

  Plant lifespan

  the plant is annual, it lacks evidence of previous years' growth

  Spines on plant

  the plant has no spines

  Underground organs

  there is a thickened taproot on the plant

• Leaves

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  the underside of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Leaf arrangement

  • alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem
  • the leaves are growing only at the base of the plant (basal)

  Leaf blade base

  • the leaf has a distinct petiole
  • the leaf has no petiole

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf is cordate (heart-shaped) or sagittate (arrow-shaped)

  Leaf blade edges

  the edge of the leaf blade has teeth

  Leaf blade hairs

  NA

  Leaf blade length

  200–400 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  • NA
  • the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is triangular, with the stalk or attachment point on one of the sides

  Leaf blade tip

  • the tip of the leaf blade is acuminate (tapers to a long, thin point)
  • the tip of the leaf blade is acute (sharply pointed)

  Leaf blade veins

  the leaf blade has one main vein running from the base towards the tip

  Leaf disposition

  the leaves are nearly similar in size, prominence of teeth, and length of stalks throughout the stem

  Leaf spines

  there are no spines on the leaf edges

  Leaf stalk

  • the leaves have leaf stalks
  • the leaves have no leaf stalks, but attach directly to the stem

  Leaf stalk length

  At least 0 mm

  Leaf type

  leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

  Specific leaf type

  • the leaf has a row of two or more lobes on each side of the central axis
  • the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Massachusetts
  • Rhode Island

  Specific habitat

  • forests
  • shores of rivers or lakes

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Leaves on stem

  there is at least one full leaf above the base of the flowering stem

  Stem internode hair direction

  NA

  Stem internode hair length

  0 mm

  Stem internode hair type

  the stem has no hairs between the nodes

  Stem internode hairs

  the stem has no hairs between the nodes

Wetland status

Usually occurs in wetlands, but occasionally in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACW)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae