Accepted Scientific Name: Senecio scaposus var. addoensis (Compton) G.D.Rowley
Cact. Succ. J. (Los Angeles) 62(6): 283 (1990):." 283 1990.
Senecio addoensis (Senecio scaposus var. addoensis) Photo by: Diego Armentano
Origin and Habitat: Senecio scaposusSN|19309]]SN|19309]] var. addoensis is endemic to the Uitenhage District in the Eastern Cape, Republic of South Africa. It is restricted to an area of about 200 km², known from two locations (Addo Elephant National Park and Port Elizabeth).
Habitat and ecology: Kowie Thicket, Sundays Thicket, Groot Thicket. S. scaposus var. addoensis dwells on shallow soil among sandstone rocks over a east-facing rock mountainside. This taxon is declining due to trampling by people in the Baakens Valley in Port Elizabeth. There is also ongoing expansion of suburban residential areas in the Glen Hurd area, which is further reducing the available habitat. In the Baakens River Valley, a large subpopulation of between 1000 and 2000 plants is restricted to a rocky outcrop of about 1 500 m². Plants grow in an area rich in other succulents. The status of the population in the Addo Elephant National Park is not known.
Synonyms:
See all synonyms of Senecio scaposus
Description: Senecio scaposusSN|19309]]SN|19309]] typically has spindle-shaped leaves covered with velvety white tomentum. In the variety addoensis the leaf-tips are often flattened, crimped or lobed, resulting in a triangular-pointed to spoon shape. The young leaves have a white to silvery felted covering (tomentum) that allows the green of the leaf to show. The silvery covering may be shed as they get older. This felted covering is an adaptation to the dry conditions under which the plant grows and serves to reflect the sunlight, preventing over-heating or burning. In time it forms small clump.
Derivation of specific name: “addoensis” For the occurrence at Addo Elephant National Park, Eastern Cape, Republic of South Africa.
Subspecies, varieties, forms and cultivars of plants belonging to the Senecio scaposus group
Senecio scaposus DC.: is near stemless, with pointed leaf-tips. Distribution: Ladismith and Uitenhage Dist. Western and Eastern Cape.- Senecio scaposus var. addoensis (Compton) G.D.Rowley: has triangular pointed to spoon-shaped or lobed flat leaf-tips. Distribution: Uitenhage Distr., Eastern Cape.
- Senecio scaposus var. caulescens Harv.: has stems 4 or more cm long, and leaf-tip spatulate. Distribution: Zwartkops River, Eastern Cape.
Bibliography: Major references and further lectures
1) Urs Eggli “Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Dicotyledons” Springer Science & Business Media, 2002
2) Urs Eggli, Leonard E. Newton, “Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names” Springer Science & Business Media, 29 June 2013
3) Cactus and Succulent Journal, Volume 81, Editions 1-6, 2009
4) Hall, A.V., De Winter, M., De Winter, B. and Van Oosterhout, S.A.M. “Threatened plants of southern Africa”. South African National Scienctific Programmes Report 45. CSIR, Pretoria,1980
5) Hilton-Taylor, C. “Red data list of southern African plants”. Strelitzia 4. South African National Botanical Institute, Pretoria. 1996
6) Nordenstam, B. and Pelser, P.B. “Caputia, a new genus to accommodate four succulent South African Senecioneae (Compositae) species”. Compositae Newsletter 50:56-69. 2012
7) Raimondo, D., von Staden, L., Foden, W., Victor, J.E., Helme, N.A., Turner, R.C., Kamundi, D.A. and Manyama, P.A. “Red List of South African Plants”. Strelitzia 25. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. 2009
8) Rowley, G.D., “Daisy-flowered succulents with name revisions in Othonna and Senecio”. Cactus and Succulent Journal (USA) 62(6):279-284. 1990
9) Rowley, G.D. “Succulent Compositae”. Strawberry Press, California.1994
10) Victor, J.E. 2002. South Africa. In: J.S. Golding (ed), “Southern African plant Red Data Lists.” Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report 14 (pp. 93-120), SABONET, Pretoria.
11) Victor, J.E. and Dold, A.P. “Threatened plants of the Albany Centre of Floristic Endemism, South Africa”. South African Journal of Science 99:437-446. 2003
12) Victor, J.E. & Berrington, W. 2007. “Caputia scaposa (DC.) B.Nord. & Pelser var. addoensis (Compton) B.Nord. & Pelser.” National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version 2017.1. Accessed on 2018/09/05
13) Senecio scaposus in kumbulanursery.co.za web: https://kumbulanursery.co.za/plants/senecio-scaposus
14) Senecio scaposus in International Succulent Introductions of the Huntington Botanical Gardens web: http://www.huntington.org/botanicaldiv/isi/ISI2009/2009-27.html
