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• Senecio viscosus

Senecio viscosus — sticky ragwort

Facts

Sticky ragwort is a Eurasian annual weed found in waste areas, railroads, river beaches, and coastal headlands. The strong-smelling leaves are oily, and trap wind-blown particles of sand, dust, and soot, giving them a distinctive appearance.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), 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 inner side hairs

  the bracts are hairy on their inner surfaces

  Bract outer side hair type

  the bracts are hairy on their outer surfaces, with hairs having glands (a swelling at the tip of the hair)

  Bract outer side hairs

  the bracts are 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

  yellow

  Disk flower lobe number

  5

  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 outer flowers

  at the outer edge of the flower head, each flower has a single enlarged lobe or strap

  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

  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

  7–15 mm

  Flower type in flower heads

  the flower head has ray flowers only, meaning all of the individual flowers of the flower head have a strap-shaped ray, which may or may not have teeth at the very tip of the ray

  Height of flower head base

  6–8 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

  hairs are present on the stem of the inflorescence

  Number of bracts at flower head base

  13–21

  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 four to six lines or ribs visible on the ovary

  Peduncle hair type

  the hairs on the peduncles have glands at their tips

  Peduncle hairs

  the peduncles are hairy

  Peduncle orientation

  the flower heads are held upright, or slightly angled outwards

  Ray flower color

  • orange
  • yellow

  Ray flower reproductive parts

  • the ray flowers have carpels or stamens, but not both
  • there are neither carpels nor stamens in the ray flowers

  Ray flowers

  11-15

  Ray length

  1–2 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

  5–40 mm

• Fruits or seeds

  Number of pappus parts

  11 or more

  Ovary length in developed fruit

  1.5–2.5 mm

  Seed hair tuft color

  the pappus hairs are white or off-white

  Seed hair tuft details

  • the pappus hairs are hooked or barbed
  • the pappus hairs are smooth and plain

  Seed tuft scale number

  0

  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 fuzzy or hairy

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  the upper side of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy

  Leaf arrangement

  alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Leaf blade base

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

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow

  Leaf blade edges

  • the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
  • the edge of the leaf blade has teeth

  Leaf blade hairs

  the leaf blade has hairs with glands at their tips

  Leaf blade length

  200–700 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends)
  • the leaf blade is obovate (egg-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)

  Leaf blade tip

  • the tip of the leaf blade is obtuse (bluntly pointed)
  • the tip of the leaf blade is rounded, with no point

  Leaf blade veins

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

  Leaf blade width

  15–40 mm

  Leaf disposition

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

  Leaf stalk

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

  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
  • wetlands

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • shores of rivers or lakes

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the plant has an unpleasant or repellant odor

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Leaves on stem

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

  Stem internode hair direction

  the hairs point mostly upwards to outwards

  Stem internode hair type

  at least some of the hairs on the stem have glands

  Stem internode hairs

  the stem has hairs between the nodes

Wetland status

Not classified

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae