Senecio flaccidus


Senecio flaccidus, formerly recorded as Senecio douglasii, member of the daisy family and genus Senecio also known as threadleaf ragwort, is a native of the southwestern Great Plains of North America.

Description

Threadleaf ragwort is a fast-growing, short-lived bushy perennial shrub growing to ; common in gravelly washes, dry creek beds, along roads and trails and mostly away from the coast.
;Leaves and Stems: Branched and bushy, Senecio flaccidus gets its common name from its white, threadlike, bent and matted, tomentose leaves; alternate and deeply pinnated, divided into five to nine narrow linear segments, glabrous, having no hairs or projections, gray-green above, to long. The principal leaves often have auxiliary clusters of smaller leaves. The stems are grooved and the branches are thin, herbaceous above and woody near the base.
;Flowers: Showy flowering heads of yellow ray flowers, – across; eight to thirteen sterile rays, purplish brown disk florets that produce the seeds.
;Seeds: Dicotyledon fruits; each a 1/8 inch long achene ribbed and hoary, covered with short white hairs.

Toxicity

Colonizing disturbed areas including over-grazed lands, Senecio flaccidus helps to achieve a quick ground cover and helps to stabilize the soil for longer-lived perennials but in this situation makes poor foraging for cattle and horses due to the alkaloids contained in the plant which cause liver disease when consumed in large quantities.
Also known as Senecio longilobus, one of the alkaloids found in this species is longilobine, as well as senecionine, seneciphylline, florosenine, otonecine-based florosenine, and retrorsine.

Distribution

Like many Senecio Senecio flaccidus likes disturbed habitats, this one preferring overgrazed rangelands, dried up stream beds and desert grasslands; at altitudes above and below.
Native
Current

Subspecies which are synonyms