Variable groundsel

Family: Asteraceae
Scientific name: Senecio spanomerus
Description: Plant Form Annual or perennial herb. Size Up to 2 m tall, usually under 1 m. Stem Sometimes sprawling. Mostly hairless. Leaves Highly variable depending on variant. Usually narrow, fleshy, dissected into segments with toothed edges. Flowers Bright yellow daisy like with 8-13 petal-like florets and a central disk with 40-90 clustered florets. Fruit and Seeds Dry, up to 3 mm long, hairless or hairy, with parachuting hairs (pappus) above. Habitat This native plant inhabits a wide variety of habitats including forests, coastal scrub, semi-arid areas, woodlands, dunes, alpine areas. Distinguishing Features Can be very similar to the invasive Fireweed (Senecio madagascariensis) but may be distinguished by having fewer petal-like florets (8-13 rather than 13-15) and a taproot rather than a fibrous root system. Weed Status: Non-weedy native lookalike Weed Type: Lifeform: Herbaceous

Example images for this weed